Cherish Your Place in Jehovah's Family -HOW JEHOVAH HAS HONORED HUMANS

 Jehovah honored us by making us in his image (Genesis 1:26, 27) Because we are made in God's image, we can develop and manifest many of his wonderful qualities, such as love, compassion, loyalty, and righteousness. (Psalm 86:15; 145:17)  As we cultivate such qualities, we honor Jehovah and prove that we are grateful to him.  (1 Peter 1:14-16)  When we behave in a way that pleases our heavenly Father, we are happy and satisfied. And by making  us in his image, Jehovah gave us the ability to become the kind of people he wants in his family.

Jehovah prepared a special home for us.  Long before he created the first man, Jehovah prepared the earth for humans.  (Job 38:4, 6; Jeremiah 10:12)  Because he is thoughtful and generous, Jehovah provided an abundance of good things to ejoy. (Psalm 104:14, 15, 24)  At times, he reflected on his creative work, and he "saw that it was good." (Genesis 1:10, 12, 31)  He honored humans by giving them "dominion over all" all his marvelous works on earth.  (Psalm 8:6)  God's purpose is that the perfect humans have the joy of caring for these grand works forever.  Do you regularly thank Jehovah for that wonderful promise?

Jehovah has given us the gift of free will.  We can choose which course we will take in life. (Read Joshua 24:15)  The ability to choose is called free will. Our loving God rejoices  when we choose to serve him.  (Psalm 84:11;  Proverbs 27:11)   We can use our free will properly in many areas.  Consider the example set by Jesus.

Following the example of Jesus, we can choose to put the interests of others ahead of our own. Once when Jesus and his apostles were very tired, they traveled to a quiet place where they hoped to get some rest. However, that was not to be. A crowd found them, and they were eager to be taught by Jesus.  But Jesus did not become irritated.  Instead, he felt pity for the people. So, what did Jesus do?  "He started to teach them many things."  (Mark 6:30-34)  When we imitate Jesus by sacrificing our time and energy to help others, we bring glory to our heavenly Father.  (Matthew 5:14-16)   We also show Jehovah that we want to be a part of his family.

Next time: Cherish Your Place in Jehovah's Family - Conclusion of  How Jehovah HAS HONORED HUMANS 

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