129. After the creation of the world, does God take care of it?
God takes care of the world. This work by which God takes care of the world is called pronie or providence. Through providence, God preserves the world in its totality, and every thing and being, He protects and directs them towards good purposes. The Providence sustains any good work. It produced the prophecy in the Old Testament and the plan of salvation.
It is shown in all the things of the world, from the smallest to the greatest ones, that God knows and cares for, as the Savior Himself says to us: “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them (Matthew VI, 26). “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them falls to the ground outside your Father’s care.”(Matthew X, 29). “God,” says St. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM, “not only has brought to light the creation, but after he has brought it, he cares for it. If you say Angels, Archangels, the highest powers, if you say all the seen and unseen, all of them enjoy His providence. Without this work, they go, drain and perish. And CLEMENT the Alexandrin says, “The appearance, the order and the mastery of seen things show us the divine providence.”
Through providence, God not only preserves, but also leads the world, that will receive a change for the better. St. EFREM SIRUL writes about providence “I saw houses and I thought of the housekeeper. I saw the world and I understood the providence. I saw a ship sinking without its shipmaster. I have seen the people’s deeds not doing anything without God, who leads them. I have seen different cities and republics in their constitution, and I have understood that everything exists through God’s order. The flock is of the shepherd, and the growth of everything on earth is from God.”
Through providence, God stops the evil and turns it into good, as the confession of DOSOPHTEI says: “The evil ones are known and allowed beforehand by God, but they don’t take care of them, for they have not done them. But once they happen, they are aimed to something useful by His endless kindness, and without being done by Him, are getting pushed for the better as much as possible.” God keeps and leads the world, working together with creatures’ powers, not without them.
