The resident stray dog died last week.

I used to see him every day as I walked to where my vehicle was parked. He was a small dog, white with brown spots over his face and back. He looked like he had some Jack Russell terrier in his bloodlines. And he was always looking for a handout!

But as I passed by last week, he was dead, stiff and frozen in the snow bank. I felt a little sorry for that little mutt. He worked so hard to survive in this world, only to fail.

But as I passed him, I remembered the conversation I had with friends the previous evening. One friend commented that in last week’s snowstorm, fifty Moldovans had died.

Some froze to death when their cars were stranded on a snow packed road. Most died because they either had inadequate heat or no heat in their homes.

Why didn’t I feel that same pang of sympathy when I heard that statistic? After all, aren’t people much more valuable that any dog?

But as I walked past the dead dog, I realized it was because I knew him.
The dog was something that I recognized.
I had talked to him.
And he had talked to me (wagged his tail, anyway!). He was a friendly mutt.

The reason I wasn’t as moved with the other statistic was that I did not know them.
I didn’t know their names or faces.
I didn’t know their families or friends.

They were just a number, a faceless entity that is mentioned in the news. It is difficult to empathize with a statistic. Some people think that God is just a distant God, that He really doesn’t know them. They figure with 5 billion people in the world, they are just a number to Him. They think that when God hears about 30,000 people dying in an Iranian earthquake, He just says to the angels, “Too bad. Anyone I know?”

But God knows you. He knew you before you were born. He knows your every word, every action, and every thought.

And He cares for you.

So when 30,000 people die in Iran, God feels that hurt…for He knew each of them.
When 50 people die due to a Moldovan snowstorm, God hurts…for He loved them.
And when 1 person is sick and dying in your family, God hurts…for He knows him or her.

You are not just a number. You are not just a statistic. You are loved.

Never forget this truth-”For God so loved you…”

Your laborer in Moldova, Andy Raatz