MAN’S QUEST
Paradise is that eternal world of God in which His attributes will appear in all their perfection. It will be free of all the defects we experience in this world.
Much as we long for a perfect world, we are compelled to live in an imperfect one. Our happiness is always short- lived, and our every success is, in some way, eventually a failure. The aspirations that we cherish in the early days of our lives are shattered as we begin to age. Human life in this world is marred by disaster, sickness, old age, and eventually death.
How beautiful the flowers are, but they blossom only to wither. How delicate the sun’s radiance, but it shines for only a short while before being covered in darkness. Miraculous though man’s existence is, no miracle can save him from death. Everything in this world shall perish. Although this world is inexpressibly beautiful and meaningful, all its virtues are bound to fade. All mundane things have a dark side to them. How, one may ask, could a God Who is perfect be satisfied with the creation of an intrinsically imperfect world? This world is imperfect. Another world must follow to compensate for the inadequacies of the present one.
There is no doubt about the transitory nature of this world. It came into existence at a specific time, some 13 billion years ago. Therefore, its Creator must have existed eternally, for only an infinite Creator could have fashioned a finite universe. If God had not always existed, this transitory world could never have come into being. Therefore, the very existence of an ephemeral universe shows that there must be an eternal Creator. If the Creator had not existed eternally, He could never have existed at all, and if there had been no Creator, there would have been no creation either.
If we assert that the world was created on a specific date, a Creator must have existed before that date. If we argue that this Creator was Himself created on some previous date, however, our claim can have no meaning. The Creator cannot Himself have been created; He always was. In His infiniteness, He has created a finite world. His existence and that of all mortal creatures depend on His immortality. Since God is immortal, He must also be absolute, for absoluteness is the greatest attribute of immortality. One cannot be found without the other.
This world manifests God’s attributes, but its shortcomings and limitations show the manifestation to be incomplete. A complete manifestation of a perfect and infinite God would be perfect and infinite. Therefore, another world must be awaiting us. This incomplete manifestation of God’s attributes requires a sequel for its fulfilment.
Paradise is that eternal world of God in which His attributes will appear in all their perfection. It will be free of all the defects we experience in the world about us. Paradise is evidence of God’s absolute power to make beauty perpetual and joy boundless in a world of everlasting peace and contentment.
