The Relationship of God with Man Is Founded on Love and Giving
The Relationship of God with Man Is Founded on Love and Giving¹
God always gives, gives generously, and gives to all. He gives without our asking, and He gives above what we ask. He gives us what we give to others. In all this, He teaches us giving. And the relationship of God with man began with love and giving.
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God was alone from eternity. There was no one else besides Him. Then He loved that we should exist, so He brought us into existence. The first grace He gave us was the grace of existence. God was not in need of our existence, but we are the ones in need of Him. His creation of us was out of the abundance of His humility, for He did not wish to exist alone, but created other beings to exist with Him.
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The second gift that God gave to man was that He created him in the best form, and distinguished him from the rest of earthly creatures with reason, speech, and understanding. He also gave him freedom of will and authority over the animals of the wilderness, the birds of the sky, and the fish of the sea. Indeed, He made him God’s steward on His earth.
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When God created man, He also gave him health, strength, and beauty. The first man was in utmost beauty when God created him, and purity and holiness added another beauty to him. He was complete in body, soul, and spirit before sin changed his image.
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God granted the first man blessing: He blessed Adam and Eve, then blessed Noah and his sons, and blessed Abraham, the father of fathers and prophets. He blessed those who loved Him among mankind and among the prophets, and made them a blessing to the world. He granted all these honor and glory, on earth and in heaven.
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God granted humanity the grace of survival and continuity of existence through marriage, by creating man male and female, so that they might be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth.
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When man died, God gave him the grace of resurrection from the dead. Humans will rise on the last day to live another life. Thus God gave humanity the grace of immortality, to live forever in another life that has no end.
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In God’s love for man, He granted him talents and good gifts. These talents vary from one person to another. Some are intellectual talents, and others are spiritual talents. His gifts reached such a level for His chosen ones that they performed miracles. He gave wisdom to some, like Solomon, and to others the gift of visions and interpretation of dreams, as was given to Daniel and Joseph the righteous.
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God also gave man the gift of speaking with Him, as Moses was the one who spoke with God, and Abraham was the friend of God. Rather, He gave all humanity the honor of speaking with Him in prayer. He granted some the honor of serving Him and spreading His Kingdom on earth, as happened with the prophets and the apostles, and the servants of God in every age and place. He inspired these with what they should say to the people, and He gave the prophets the gift of divine revelation.
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When many people sinned, God did not leave them in their falls, but granted them the spirit of repentance and return to Him, and also granted them forgiveness. All this is from the tenderness and mercy of God.
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God granted man to have a connection with the heavenly powers through the work of angels for the sake of humans. There are angels who announce good tidings, angels who warn, and angels who help and deliver them. He also granted them to live with the angels in the other world afterward.
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God gave man everything he needs on earth in terms of care. He guaranteed his needs for food, drink, and clothing, and placed in the earth resources sufficient for all humans, if they are well distributed.
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Among the most important divine gifts to man is care. God did not create man and leave him alone, but continues to care for him everywhere and throughout generations. He sends him shepherds who care for him, solve his problems, and grant him help and assistance.
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Among God’s gifts to man is His guidance in the path of life and making known to him the right way in which he should walk. Thus He granted him the divine commandments, which became a light for him on the path. He also granted him conscience, which distinguishes between good and evil, urges toward good, warns against error, and leads man to repentance and to the love of God and obedience to Him.
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God gave man a heart that longs for Him, and also granted him the grace of faith in Him, so that we thank God and say to Him in our prayers: “You have given me the knowledge of Your knowledge.” How beautiful is this gift, that we know God and have a relationship with Him, a relationship that continues from now and forever.
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God also granted us to depend on Him and to seek Him in our distresses, so He responds to us and helps us. Thus we thank Him for all His benefactions to us, and we feel that we are not alone in this world, but that there is a power from above that supports us in the path of life.
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God also gave us the love with which we love Him, and with which we love one another, and by which we give to others as much as we can: we give them love, give them advice and thought, and give them from the material things that God has given us. In all this, we do not consider ourselves as giving, but rather as conveying God’s goodness to people.
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The prophet David remembered God’s gifts and benefactions to him and said in the Psalm: “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.” Thus he gave us a lesson to remember all God’s benefactions to us, and all His benefactions to our loved ones, our acquaintances, and our homeland as well.
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Every good gift that reaches us undoubtedly has God as its source. Yet we often attribute the good that comes to us to other than God: to some people, to our own intelligence, or to surrounding circumstances. Thus our thanksgiving to God diminishes, our acknowledgment of His favor decreases, and our relationship with Him weakens, along with our acknowledgment that without Him we would be nothing at all.
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Sit, my brother, with yourself, and ask your memory to roam through every work of God for you since you were born until this moment. Contemplate every step in which God made your path successful, or granted you favor in the eyes of people, or saved you from a problem, or covered you and did not wish to expose you… then thank God the Giver. Even if His gifts reached you through others, thank Him also because He used these for your benefit.
¹ An article by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III, published in Al-Ahram newspaper on 14-9-2008.
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