God of All
God of All
I listened to him as he was supplicating to God, saying: “Who am I, O Lord, that I should speak to You?! I am dust, and You are all greatness and all glory… I am the sinner who weakens before the wars of the demons and falls every day! How can I stand before You, O Lord, You who are the All-Holy, surrounded by Your holy angels who praise You at all times, together with the spirits of the righteous among humans, who continually do what pleases You…?!
I should have realized, O Lord, who I am and Who You are! But I dared and opened my mouth to speak to You, while I am a stranger to Your Kingdom. I am not of this holy assembly that belongs to You and surrounds You. I have no boldness to speak. So forgive me, O Lord, this boldness…”
Then I intervened and said to that friend: No, my brother, do not think that God is the God of the righteous only, those strong in their spirituality, but He is the God of all. He is also the God of sinners. He has compassion on them in their falls and draws them to Himself in many various ways until He leads them to repentance. He is not only the God of the strong, but also the God of the weak who need strength from Him—strength that supports their weakness and grants them power.
The weak, the fallen, and the sinners are the people most in need of God, and He does not abandon them. “For the healthy do not need a physician, but the sick.” They once asked an Arab man: “Which of your children is dearest to you?” He said: “The small one until he grows, the sick one until he is healed, and the absent one until he returns.” He meant the one who is most in need. If the human heart is like this, how much more so the heart of God?! Surely all who are needy find in Him all compassion and tenderness. “He is the Helper of the helpless, and the Hope of the hopeless.”
God is the God of all. He is the God of the poor little sparrow, saving it from the snare of the hunters. And He is also the God of the hunters who set the snare for that sparrow. He is the One who preserves the balance between all of them.
God does not belong to one people of the earth. Rather, He belongs to all the peoples of the earth: black, white, yellow, and brown. All are His creation, all under His care and the object of His concern—among them the righteous and the sinners, the flock and the shepherds. God wants all to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Let not the sinner think that he is not of the flock of God, or that God does not care for him! If that were the case, it would not be possible for any sinner to repent! But the will of God is otherwise. God has compassion on all sinners. He sends them grace to work in their consciences, hearts, and thoughts, leading them to repentance. One of the clearest examples is Saint Augustine, who was very far from the faith and from the life of virtue, while his mother prayed for him with many tears. How God led him to Himself—so he became a believer, a repentant, and a saint.
God, who does not abandon any of His creation, cared for the pagan world and helped it leave the worship of idols and become believers. Likewise those who once believed in many gods, how He led them to abandon such belief and to believe in the One God, the Creator of heaven and earth.
Truly, God is the God of all. He was the God of those pagans and was patient with them until they believed in Him… He was the God of the Greeks who believed in a multitude of gods under the leadership of Zeus, and He was patient with them until they believed in Him. He was the God of the ancient Egyptians who believed in many gods such as Ra, Amun, Osiris, Isis, Horus, and others—but He was patient with them until they believed in Him.
He is the God of all of them. And the period of their being far from Him did not make Him consider them strangers to His flock. Likewise, during the era of atheist communism in Russia, God continued to care for them and watch over them until they returned to Him.
God is the God of all, whether they have strayed from the faith or from the life of righteousness. How beautiful is the saying of Saint Augustine about his former sinful life: “You were with me, O Lord, but in the depth of my misery I was not with You.” Strange that he says the Lord was with him while he was a sinner! Yes, He was with him, and by this God was able to change his life toward righteousness, repentance, and continued growth until He brought him to holiness.
God is the God of all, no matter how changeable their lives may be. He is the God of strugglers who spend their lives and effort in serving others, and at the same time He is the God of worshippers and ascetics who spend their lives in prayer, contemplation, and asceticism.
He is the God of the simple and the wise, the ignorant and the learned. Not all have the same nature, nor the same intellect. But all are one creation of the one God, who gathers them all under His care. He cares for all so they may all become children of the Kingdom.
Truly, the Kingdom of God will include people of many kinds, and God will accept them, on the condition of the purity of their hearts, regardless of their rank or type of work. It is enough for them to be pure in heart, even if they are weak in their level or young in age.
Since God is for all, He does not reject anyone. Even those who reject Him, He does not treat according to their ignorance; rather, He tries to save them from this rejection—sometimes by attracting them to the spiritual life, and sometimes through trials that bring them back to Him.
Since God is for all, there are no “important” and “marginalized” ones. Every person feels God’s care for him, whatever his circumstances. The compassionate nature of God, full of mercy toward all, is also connected to God’s pastoral work, for He shepherds all. Thus each person feels that God cares for him and guides his steps; and even if he errs in the path, He corrects his way but never abandons him.
Our God is the God who, after creating the whole world, continues to care for everyone in it, caring for every individual of His creation, wanting good for all—whether here on earth or in the eternal destiny. No one has failed to receive from the abundance of His grace… As for those who perish, they are the ones who chose destruction for themselves, insisted on it, and rejected grace.
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An article by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III, published in Al-Ahram newspaper on 27-9-2009.
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