A Great Teacher Helps Us to Know the Creator

Granted, people who doubt the Creator's existence or whose view of God is vague may know little about the Bible.  Perhaps you have met individuals who could not say whether Moses lived before or after Matthew and who know virtually nothing of Jesus' deeds or teachings.  That is most sad because one can learn so much about the Creator from the Great Teacher, Jesus.  Having had a close relationship with God, he could reveal what our Creator is like.  (John 1:18; 2  Corinthians 4:6; Hebrews 1:3)  And he did so.  In fact, he once said: "He that has seen me has seen the Father also." -John 14:9. 

Consider this example.  On an occasion when Jesus was tired from traveling, he spoke with a Samaritan woman near Sychar.  He shared profound truths, centering on the need to "worship the Father with spirit and truth."  Jews of that era shunned Samaritans.  In contrast, Jesus reflected Jehovah's  willingness to accept sincere men and women of all nations, even as we noted from the incident involving Elisha and Naaman.   It should reassure us that Jehovah is above the narrow-minded religious hostility that permeates the world today.  We can also take note of the fact that Jesus was willing to teach a woman, and in this case a woman living with a man not her husband.  Instead of condemning her, Jesus treated her with dignity, in a way that could really help her.  Thereafter, other Samaritans listened to Jesus and concluded:  "We know that this man is for a certainty the  savior of the world." -John 4:2-30, 39-42; 1 Kings 8:41-43; Matthew 9:10-13.

Let us consider another illustration of how we can learn about the Creator by familiarizing ourselves with Jesus' actions and teachings.  Reflect on the occasion when Jesus' friend Lazarus died.  Jesus had previously proved his power to bring the dead back to life.  (Luke 7:11-17; 8:40-56) How, though, did he react  to seeing Lazarus' sister Mary mourning?  Jesus  "groaned in the spirit and became troubled."  He was not indifferent or aloof; he "gave way to tears."  (John 11:33-35) And this was not a mere display of emotion.  Jesus was moved to positive action - he resurrected Lazarus.  You can imagine how this helped the apostles to appreciate the Creator's feelings and actions.  It should also help us an do others to understand the Creator's personality and ways.

There is no reason to be ashamed of studying the Bible and learning more about our Creator.  The Bible is not an antiquated book.  One who studied it and became a close associate of Jesus was John.  He later wrote: "We know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us intellectual capacity that we may gain the knowledge  of the true one.  And we are in union with the true one, by means of his Son Jesus Christ.  This is the true God and life everlasting."  (1 J0hn 5:20)  Observe that employing "intellectual  capacity" to gain knowledge  of  "the true one,"  the Creator, can lead to"life everlasting."

Next time: How Can You Help Others to Learn About Him?

The watchtower, 1999