Beckett: 1st Article of the Creed – The Father’s Providence

“…He also gives me clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, wife and children, land, animals, and all I have. He richly and daily provides me with all that I need to support this body and life” (SC, The First Article: Creation).

Yes, everything—no matter how large or small—comes from your Creator. Even for the evil? Yes, for He is just that gracious and merciful. “For He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust (Matthew 5:45). As Luther continues in the Large Catechism, “we learn from this article that none of us has life—or anything else that has been mentioned here or can be mentioned—from ourselves, nor can we by ourselves preserve any of them, however small and unimportant. All this is comprehended in the word ‘Creator'” (LC II, 16).

As Lutherans, we know God likes to work through means, especially His means of grace in the Word and Sacraments to distribute His grace for the forgiveness of sins to those who trust in Him. He also uses means to provide the physical needs of His human creatures, as we first see in Genesis. God is perfectly capable of taking care of creation by Himself, just as Jesus makes clear in Matthew 6:26-30. Yet He set man in the Garden to work it and keep it as His steward and therefore the means to care for His creation. Why? God only knows. Yet it seems He enjoys using corporeal means to take care of His human creatures, for they are corporeal.

Thus, have you received a paycheck from your employer? Thank the Lord! Are you an employer who has competent employees? Thank the Lord! Have you received food from your local grocery store through various farmers? Thank the Lord! Do you have pets and/or livestock? Thank the Lord! Do you have clothing in your closet? Thank the Lord! Do you have a spouse and/or children? Thank the Lord! Do you have good health, good government, and good weather? Thank the Lord! For “He richly and daily provides me with all that I need to support this body and life.”