Human Imperfection, Teboho Kibe [read a book .txt] 📗

earth,” Jehovah God is going to remove everything from the earth that does not measure up to his standards, fit his righteous purpose. His promise is that, as a result, ‘neither tears, death, mourning nor outcry nor pain will be anymore.’ (Matt. 6:10; Rev. 21:3-5) During the thousand-year rule of his Son’s heavenly kingdom over earth’s inhabitants, obedient persons will be brought to bodily and mental perfection, the equals of the first human pair prior to their sinning.—1 Cor. 15:25, 26; Rev. 20:4-6.

Will this ‘take all the challenge out of living,’ make life ‘mechanically regular and stale’? Just the opposite. The reason why some have this idea is that they imagine that a perfect human would be able to do just about anything he or she wanted to with practically no effort. Suppose you were to decide you wanted to play the violin. Why, you could just pick it up and, though never having had one in your hands before, now play a piece like Sarasate’s Zigeunerweisen (Gypsy Airs) without a single slip! So some seem to think. But this is just an imaginary ideal. The Bible gives no such concept.

Jesus Christ was born a perfect human. Yet he had to learn to eat solid food, walk and talk as all human babies do. If, as seems likely, he worked at carpentering with his foster father Joseph, he certainly had to learn skill in handling carpenter’s tools. It did not come automatically because he was perfect. Nor did other knowledge, nor even knowledge of his Father’s Word and purpose. As Luke 2:52 says of him from the age of twelve years onward: “And Jesus went on progressing in wisdom and in physical growth and in favour with God and men.”—Luke 2:42-52.

Perfection, then, will not eliminate the challenge of living. Each task will have its particular problems to be solved. Effort, thinking, planning will still be required. But perfection will remove the frustration, the disappointment, the futility that living in an imperfect, sin-ridden world now brings us, where even our best efforts so often are thwarted by obstacles or by the very shortness of our life-span, or fail due to the weakness of our sinful nature.

The prospect of everlasting life in itself will challenge those living in God’s new system to learn more and more, to learn about the wonderful earth on which they live and the enormous variety of created things that God has made. It will challenge everyone’s productivity, initiative, resourcefulness and enterprise, ingenuity and originality. What each person produces in the way of homes, gardens, dress, handcraft and works of art will reflect his own personal preferences and purpose, though all in harmony with the will of God. This will assure unending variety earth wide, never sameness and monotony.

Realize, then, that we should learn now all we can from the Source of truly worthwhile knowledge. Recognize that, “as for the true God, perfect is his way; the saying of Jehovah is a refined one.” Trust in his Word, put it to work in your life now and, relying on his promises for the future, make him your refuge and source of strength. Then you can say with the psalmist: “The true God is the One girding me closely with vital energy, and he will grant my way to be perfect.”—Ps. 18:30-32.

Right, friend, I think that there more intimate we try to get with God is the more clearer our clairvoyance will be with regard to the whole issue of human imperfection. So now, please allow me to again re-affirm or nail your understanding of Jehovah God once more for expanded comprehension also with the use of further questions.

 

The truth is that Jehovah is anawe-inspiringyetlovingGod. No doubt you, like the vast majority of persons, acknowledge belief in God. But what does God mean to you? What qualities or characteristics does he have? How would you describe him?

First of all, it is good to realize that God has a name—not one given to him by men, but a name that he has given to himself. Perhaps you have seen that name, Jehovah, in your own copy of the Bible.—Ps. 83:18; Isa. 42:8, AS.

If you have reasoned on the matter, you probably concluded that God has always existed and that he is responsible for all creation. You no doubt found this more logical to believe than that the universe brought itself into existence and, without any guiding intelligence, produced the marvellous results you see all around. Therefore you have reason to agree with the acclaim given to God by heavenly creatures: “You are worthy, Jehovah, even our God, to receive the glory and the honour and the power, because you created all things, and because of your will they existed and were created.”—Rev. 4:11.

You undoubtedly accept the idea of infinity—that something can be limitless, without beginning or end. You realize, for instance, that time is infinite, and that space has no beginning or end as far as man can determine. Thus, you can accept the fact that Jehovah God is the “King of eternity,” and that, as the Bible says, he has no beginning and will have no end.—1 Tim. 1:17; Ps. 90:2; Rev. 10:6.

But what does God look like? How would you describe him? Since Jehovah is a Spirit, and thus is beyond the power of humans to see, any description of his appearance in human terms can only approximate his incomparable glory. (John 4:24) Jehovah says: “To whom can you people liken me so that I should be made his equal? . . . Raise your eyes high up and see. Who has created these things? It is the One who is bringing forth the army of them even by number, all of whom he calls even by name.”—Isa. 40:25, 26.

Thus is emphasized the greatness and incomparable glory of the Creator of this marvellous material universe. Perhaps you have seen motion pictures of a powerful nuclear explosion with all its awe-inspiring brilliance and magnitude. Yet the thousands of millions of stars, or distant suns, that Jehovah created and calls individually by name give off tremendous flares that dwarf in brilliance and energy anything that man can produce. How awe-inspiring and magnificent the Creator of these innumerable suns must be!

No wonder that Jehovah God cannot be fully comprehended by mere humans. Really, for the Almighty Jehovah to set down for us a description of himself in spirit terms would be like supplying advanced algebraic equations to persons having only the most elementary knowledge of mathematics. Or it would be like trying to explain colors to a person born blind.—Job 37:23, 24.

Nevertheless, certain of Jehovah’s servants were given inspired visions of his heavenly courts, although they did not actually see God. (John 1:18) Their description of his presence portrays, not only great dignity and awesome majesty, but also serenity, order, beauty and pleasantness. These descriptions employ metaphors and similes, likening Jehovah’s appearance to things known to humans, such as jewels, fire and a rainbow. But, of course, such descriptions are never to be taken literally.—Ezek. 1:26-28; Rev. 4:1-3.

Similarly, Jehovah God is described in the Bible as if having certain human features. For example, the Christian apostle Peter wrote: “The eyes of Jehovah are upon the righteous ones, and his ears are toward their supplication; but the face of Jehovah is against those doing bad things.” (1 Pet. 3:12; Ezek. 20:33; Ex. 15:6; Luke 11:20) Such expressions are often necessary for the description to be humanly comprehensible. But they are not to be taken literally, any more than metaphorical references to God as being a “sun,” “shield” or “Rock” are to be taken literally.—Ps. 84:11; Deut. 32:4, 31.

“But does the Bible not say that man was made in ‘God’s image’?” you may inquire. “And does not that indicate that God has body parts that are similar to those of humans?”—Gen. 1:27.

Bible references to man’s being made in God’s image do not mean that the first human was created physically in Jehovah’s likeness. Rather, they refer to man’s being created with the same attributes or qualities possessed by Jehovah God, such as love, thinking ability, a sense of justice, and so forth. That physical likeness is not meant is indicated by Jehovah’s specific warning to the nation of Israel through his spokesman Moses: “You must take good care of your souls, because you did not see any form on the day of Jehovah’s speaking to you in Horeb out of the middle of the fire, that you may not act ruinously and may not really make for yourselves a carved image, the form of any symbol, the representation of male or female.”—Deut. 4:15, 16.

This shows that it is impossible for any humans to make a likeness of Jehovah God, because no human knows what he looks like, that is, what form of likeness he has. We do know that God and his spirit creations are altogether different from humans. Their perception, for instance, is not dependent on eyes and ears such as humans possess.

For example, Jehovah God, even without the benefit of light rays, can see deeds done in utter darkness. (Ps. 139:1, 7-12; Heb. 4:13) In fact, his vision can encompass all the earth. (Prov. 15:3) And he needs no X-ray equipment to see the growing embryo within the human womb.—Ps. 139:15, 16.

Furthermore, Jehovah’s hearing is not dependent on sound waves in an atmosphere, for he can “hear” expressions though uttered voiceless in human hearts. (Gen. 24:42-45; Ps. 19:14) Man cannot successfully measure the vast physical universe, yet even as the physical heavens do not embrace or enclose the place of Jehovah’s residence, much less does some earthly house or temple. (1 Ki. 8:27) Really, what a great God we want to worship!

How grateful we can be that the awe-inspiring, magnificent Jehovah is outstandingly a God of love! In all his dealings this quality is apparent.

Jehovah showed love in granting his first-created spirit Son the privilege of sharing with him in all further works of creation, generously causing this fact to be made known, with resultant honour to his Son. (Gen. 1:26; Col. 1:15-17) He thus did not weakly fear the possibility of competition, but rather displayed complete confidence in his own rightful Sovereignty as well as in his Son’s loyalty and devotion. And, lovingly, Jehovah allows his spirit sons relative freedom in the discharge of their duties, on occasion even permitting them to offer their views on how they might carry out particular assignments.—1 Ki. 22:19-22.

Jehovah’s love was further demonstrated in his arranging for the bringing into existence of earthly creatures. Since man was made “in God’s image,” it follows that the joy a human father finds in his child, particularly one who shows filial love and acts with wisdom, reflects the joy that Jehovah finds in his intelligent creatures who love and wisely serve Him. (Prov. 27:11; Matt. 3:17; 12:18) This pleasure comes, not from any material or physical gain, but from seeing his creatures willingly hold to his righteous standards and show unselfishness and generosity.—Ps. 147:10, 11; Heb. 13:16.

Certainly the first man Adam in his perfection had reason to feel awesome respect and love for his Creator. He could certainly concur with the later words of the Bible psalmist: “I shall laud you [Jehovah] because in a fear-inspiring way I am wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful, as my soul is very well aware.”—Ps. 139:14.

Adam’s own body—outstandingly versatile among earthly creatures—as well as the things he found around him, offered good reason to laud Jehovah. Each new bird, animal and fish, each different plant, flower and tree, every field, forest, hill, valley and stream that the man saw would impress upon him the depth and breadth of his Father’s wisdom and the colourfulness of Jehovah’s personality as reflected in the grand variety of his creative works. All of man’s senses—sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch—would communicate to his receptive mind the evidence of a most generous and thoughtful Creator.

Nor were Adam’s intellectual needs, his need for conversation and companionship, forgotten, as his Father provided him with