I’ve found that the farther something is from you, physically or otherwise, the less it feels like it affects you. If it affects you at all, it can be quite minimal. This makes us prone to care less, and can even lean us towards apathy. But just because I don’t feel affected doesn’t mean I shouldn’t care about the people involved, regardless of the problem. Just because I don’t notice something doesn’t mean it isn’t a problem. Just because I don’t feel troubled doesn’t mean someone else isn’t. Just because I’m saved and don’t have to worry doesn’t mean I don’t need to tell others how to be the same. If I’m not careful, I will stop caring about people the way God does, and I will keep the Gospel and God’s love all to myself.
On the other side, the closer something is to you, physically or otherwise, you tend to notice it more. We notice situations more when they directly affect us. This makes us care more about them and makes us more prone to get involved. I think that’s sometimes why God lets us suffer. If we didn’t, our selfish human nature wouldn’t care quite so much about others. When I feel a problem personally, I care more about making it stop. Not that we humans don’t care about each other’s problems unless we’re personally affected, but we tend to care more when we can see something right in front of us.
But regardless of the situation, God knows what’s going on and He cares about everyone on all sides of a problem. Regardless of the current context of human life, our greatest need and our greatest help is God Himself! In the face of any problem and whether we feel it or not, we need to remember that God is still King, and we are still His servants and children. We have Good News to share, regardless of what’s going on around us! We have help and hope to give and display, and they are highlighted in the context of extreme troubles!
Whether people are near or far, whether you understand and feel their problems or not, whether the problem is small or large, remember that God holds people dear to Him. That’s why He sent Jesus to us.