On another board, the question was asked: "Dear God, where were you 9-11-01?"
During the ensuing discussion among other things I said:
Believers who benefit from some good fortune (a rescue from a burning building or aDuring discussions like those, I normally can't help but draw mental comparisons between Jehovah's often baffling actions/INaction to the superior acts that humans might (usually) do when we are in similar situations. It never fails that I recall a quote from the Aid book that I first read close to 30 years ago. Here's the quote:
victory in a pointless game) without fail credit god. OTOH, believers who suffer some
mindless, inexplicable quirk of fate say that god is merely "testing them" or that "we
can't know god's mind on every matter."As a parent, I can't relate to that kind of reasoning AT ALL. I will help my daughter
every step of the way and will protect her from every harm, no matter how small. To
stand and watch her suffer--when I can do SOMETHING to stop it--would be a
heinous crime. Is that what god is? A criminal?
- Personal qualities revealed in creation.
Certain facets of Jehovahs personality are revealed by his creative works even
prior to his creation of man. (Ro 1:20) The very act of creation reveals his love.
This is because Jehovah is self-contained, lacking nothing. Hence, although he
created hundreds of millions of spirit sons, not one could add anything to his
knowledge or contribute some desirable quality of emotion or personality that
He did not already possess in superior degree.-Da 7:9, 10; Heb 12:22; Isa 40:13, 14;
Ro 11:33, 34. -- Insight On The Scriptures, Vol. 2, p. 14; also found in
Aid to Bible Understanding, p. 889, par. 9 (1971 Edition)
Even though I was a clueless teen I thought it was an extraordinary statement, and I've thought about it several times since then based on what was happening in my life and in the world. Juxtaposing that quote with the protective, not to mention PRO-active love I feel for my daughter and the palpable love I've seen other parents show for *their* children, I can't help but wonder if the Aid book quote is anywhere CLOSE to accurate. I have deathly serious doubts it is.
When I see trouble looming in my daughter's path--no matter how small--I act in her behalf, helping her to never experience that fall from the three-foot-high bed or feel the burn of that cooking pot or the electric shock of that outlet. Just like countless other loving parents I've seen, I'm not apathetic or emotionally detached from her but act in her behalf with everything I have. When I can, I even do this for kids that AREN'T EVEN MINE.
Of course, I'm not omniscient like Jehovah is and I don't have ten tousand times then thousand personal assistants at my beck and call 24/7. So, sometimes I'm not always aware of approaching threats to my Little One. Other times I see it a half-second too late so I don't react soon enough. In times like those, I'm there for her as soon as I can be to soothe the pain and do as much as I can to make it all better.
CONCLUSION: Despite what the Aid/Insight book writer asserted, I really believe that the Jehovah of the bible could learn a thing or two about loving his children. One thing he needs to do is STOP looking for such instruction from all those spirit sons of his, since *they* don't know a darn thing about parenting, either.
What might help him of Unmatchable Love is for him to look down here to Planet Earth and see what it means to be a Loving Parent. I have NO doubt that many of us can teach him a thing or two about the proper way to love your offspring. It's something he really needs to learn -- and the sooner the better.