 |
 |
|
Responsibility and
Freedom
The special position of human beings in the creation carries
with it special blessings and special responsibilities.
Free will is the highest gift that humankind has received
from God. This gift makes man superior to all other creatures
and makes him supreme in heaven and on earth, for he represents
God, the Creator.
|
"Ye are crated in the image
of God"
"What you bind
on earth shall be bound in Heaven"
"You shall judge
the angels, but for a little while you shall be below the
angels"
|
 |
Co-Creativity
In particular, as co-creators with God, humans have their
own portion of responsibility in seeing that God's original
plan for the creation is carried out. Men and women exercise
their co-creatorship by contributing their efforts to their
own perfection and the fulfillment of the three blessings.
Therefore, it is the responsibility of human beings to obey
the word of God out of their own volition. If they do not
obey God, they will be unable to grow to maturity and God's
ideal will not be realized.
|
Once humans have fulfilled their
responsibility, they are completely free. This means that all the
options they might consider would be within the province of God's
will and, therefore, result in goodness. Conversely, there is no
true freedom without responsibility. Anyone who makes choices contrary
to divine law will bring about his own destruction, the corruption
of his own personality. Hence evil in the world is caused by an
abuse of free choice: men and women exercising their God-given freedom
in disobedience to God's will and specifically humanity are the
creators of evil not God.
Thus although
God provides the natural environment for human physical growth,
as well as the love and laws needed for spiritual growth,
and it is the free choices of individuals that determine their
destiny. What a person contributes to his own completion is
just a small part of what is needed for human development
(God gives the rest), but it is the key to fulfillment of
God's purpose for human beings. Therefore, the primary concern
of human life is the fulfillment of human responsibility.
The Direct Dominion of Love
God's law is a guide for giving and receiving love. When humans
obey divine law they mature in their love to the point where
it fully resembles God's true love and they can enter into
the direct dominion of God's love, in which the bond of love
between God and humankind precludes any disobedient desire
in men and women. God's will and human will become one, such
that human desire is only to please God. Thus the goal of
human life and the object of growth is to exist in perfect
union with God and be obedient to Him out of mature love.
(People bring fear of retribution and punishment on themselves
when they make choices outside of the Principles of Creation.)
This is the ideal of a parent-child relationship, in which
the child obeys its parent out of love and affection and not
fear. Such a child can be come a friend or partner to its
parents, or even surpass them on occasion. This mature relationship
enhances the parent-child love and thrills the parents with
joy.
Conclusion
As with all created beings, humans grow through three stages
to reach maturity. Human growth differs from that of minerals,
plants and animals in that it contains a spiritual element
that transcends and gives purpose to the physical. The object
of human life is the perfection of love for the completion
of the three blessings. Once an individual has reached full
physical and spiritual maturity, completing the first blessing,
he or she is qualified to create a true love family and take
dominion over the things of creation, fulfilling the second
and third blessings. The three blessings can be completely
realized only when individuals enter the direct dominion of
God, creating families and nations maintained in perfect harmony
with His will and secured by unbreakable bonds of true love.
Human growth to maturity on earth is preparation for an eternal
existence in the spirit world. The nature of this invisible
world and its relationship to the physical world known to
our five physical senses is the topic of the next chapter.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
