Aunty Jane
Well-Known Member
I understand your logic there, but I like to step back and take a wider view. I also wondered about that question. But looking at the vastness of the Universe and knowing that God does not do anything without a reason or purpose, why would he choose a small and insignificant planet at the edge of a relatively small galaxy among billions, to create sentient life?First, I don’t believe Earth could sustain an eternally living population—though this is only my assessment based on current knowledge.
Reflecting on his word, the spirit beings who inhabit the heavenly realm were the first of God’s creation. They were there shouting for joy when God had finished his material creation. (Job 38:4-7) Jehovah is a Creator, not a magician, so creation may well have taken millions of years. A “thousand“ of our earth years is like “one day” to him. (2 Peter3:8) He has no time limits but his work is highly organized as the creative “days” had specific elements that were completed and evaluated at the end of each “day”. At the completion of the final day, he was able to pronounce the finished product as “very good”.
What does “very good” mean to the Almighty Creator…..absolute perfection!
So taking that information and putting things in perspective, I see the earth as a starting point in his creation of mortal life. (These are just my own musings) If you view the earth as a gigantic space ship traveling through space, with passengers on board whose every need was catered for, and being given rewarding work to do on the journey, we know that there are other “space ships” already in existence that have not yet been modified to accommodate life…..perhaps in the same raw state that the earth was in before God prepared it for habitation…….and once this earth was “filled” as God told Adam and his wife to do, what is to stop the Creator repeating the process and filling the whole universe with sentient life?
Why are we here….and going through this test of our character? What is God looking for in those who will be granted everlasting life on this beautiful ‘space ship’?
Being mortal doesn’t necessarily mean that we “have” to die….only that we “could” under certain circumstances. God told the first humans about the only cause of death that he mentioned. Since humans had the means provided there in the garden for their lives to continue indefinitely, (Gen 3:22-24) God had to have in mind the future time when this planet was filled to a comfortable capacity……what then?
If his purpose was to have the earth “filled” could he not simply stop procreation, once that capacity was reached? Isn’t this why were were given procreative abilities….angels have no gender and no procreative abilities…because they are a different creation, living in a completely different realm….but they too are sons of God.
As with all things created, no matter how well designed they are, prototypes require a time of testing to see if problems arise due to things beyond the designer’s control. What was there about God’s creation of humans that was different to all other life forms? They alone were gifted with free will, which the Creator could not control without taking that gift away from them…..he didn’t make them like the animal kingdom, operating purely on instinct….which is virtually ‘inbuilt programming’ that requires no education. Like how birds build nests specific to their species to raise their young, who were not around to see how their parents constructed them.
Instinct is a marvelous thing, but it requires no love of the kind that God seeks from his children. You cannot force anyone to love you, which is why God won’t force himself on anyone….we have to willingly serve him out of genuine love and appreciation for who he is, and what he has done by granting us life in the first place.
Instinct is an amazing quality in all living things, but it does not involve planning….God is the planner and all creatures know their place without the need to understand the ‘past, present and future’ events…..all creatures live in the present…..we alone can evaluate present and future plans with a view to past experience. This is how we are made in God’s image. Everything we do can be evaluated logically, with consequences mindfully taken on board…..which is why Adam and his wife had no excuse to disobey…..they knew the penalty, and satan too abused his free will. We are living in the consequences of their actions.
What is the lesson? Your actions do not affect only yourself.
