Sanath thought a lot about what Buddhika had told him. Of course, it was not the first time that Sanath had heard about the Bible. He had always known that it is a holy book, but now he began to think that if the Bible really contains true prophecies, perhaps it is more than just an ancient holy book. Yet, he wondered how those men who wrote down the words in the Bible could have known those scientific facts and historical events so far in advance. Where did their knowledge come from?

Sanath and Vasana went to visit Buddhika and Anushka the next day, and Sanath asked Buddhika that very question: “How could the writers have known all those things so far in advance?”

Buddhika explained: “The men who wrote those things were not the originators, or authors, of what they wrote. They were like secretaries who wrote down information given them by someone else. The real Author was actually our original Father.”

“Our original Father?” asked Sanath. “Who is he?”

“He is the One who gave us life originally,” Buddhika explained. “And, like any real father, He also has a name.” Turning in his Bible to Psalm 83:18, Buddhika read to Sanath:

• 

  “That people may know that you, whose name is Jehovah, you alone are the Most High over all the earth.”

Buddhika showed Sanath another text in the Bible. It described Jehovah as “the One telling from the beginning the finale, and from long ago the things that have not been done.” (Isaiah 46:10) To explain this verse, Buddhika said: “Just as our natural father has more experience in life and often knows much more than we do, Jehovah, our original Father, is greater in knowledge and wisdom than all of us and can even foretell the future. For this reason, he was able to let the Bible writers know what to write about the future.”

“Does Jehovah know what future Vasana and I will have?” Sanath wanted to know.

“Well,” Buddhika explained, “Jehovah does not determine in advance the outcome of each person’s life individually. But like a father, he knows our problems, and he wants to help us.”

Buddhika told Sanath that from the Bible, they could find out what Jehovah would do to help them have a happy and peaceful life. They could also learn how the decisions they make could affect them now and in the future.

Sanath thought that all of this was very logical because he too was a father, and he would do all that he could to help his children to have a happy future. Buddhika was happy to show Sanath and Vasana some of the promises that are contained in the Bible. These are a few of the things he showed them:

• “He is making wars to cease to the extremity of the earth.”​—Psalm 46:9.

• “They will certainly build houses and have occupancy; and they will certainly plant vineyards and eat their fruitage. They will not build and someone else have occupancy; they will not plant and someone else do the eating. For like the days of a tree will the days of my people be.”​—Isaiah 65:21, 22.

• “There will come to be plenty of grain on the earth; on the top of the mountains there will be an overflow.”​—Psalm 72:16.

• “He will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away.”​—Revelation 21:4.

Sanath was touched by all these wonderful promises in the Bible. He really liked the idea of a world where everyone would be treated justly, where sickness and death would be no more, and where there would be plenty of food for everyone. Vasana was impressed too, but she thought it was all too good to be true.

“I can well understand how you feel, Vasana,” said Buddhika. “But think about this: Just as we have seen, many other prophecies in the Bible have been accurately fulfilled. Does that not assure us that these promises will also be fulfilled? Actually, the Author of the Bible guarantees their fulfillment with these words: ‘Write, because these words are faithful and true.’”​—Revelation 21:5.

Sanath was happy to learn about all the things that Jehovah had promised, but he wondered how anyone could have the power to fulfill these promises. Buddhika explained that to understand how Jehovah could do everything he promised, they could think about a basic idea that everyone was familiar with​—the law of cause and effect.

Buddhika said that this basic fact is also explained in the Bible, and he showed Sanath this Bible text:

• “Every house is constructed by someone.”​—Hebrews 3:4.

“That seems logical,” Sanath responded. “Surely, no house can come about without a builder.”

“To take your observation one step further,” said Buddhika, “I might add that no meal was ever prepared without a cook.”

Then Buddhika reminded Sanath that all around them were things much greater and more complex than a house. “Look at the delicate flowers, the majestic mountains, the powerful sea, and the boundless universe,” he said. “If a house needs a designer and a builder and a meal has to be prepared by a cook, then what about all the marvelous things in the universe? Do they not also require a Designer and Maker?”

Sanath had to agree that Buddhika had a good point.

“The Bible says that, indeed, there is an original Designer and Maker of all things,” Buddhika continued. “Of course, to be the Maker of all things, this One would have to be a powerful and mighty Person. That is why the Bible calls him God. In the original language of the Bible, this word means ‘Mighty One’ or ‘Strong One.’ Today, there are many whom people call ‘gods,’ but because Jehovah made all things, he is rightly called Almighty God.”

Sanath was surprised to see that the Bible describes the many wonderful works of Jehovah God. These are a few examples of what Buddhika showed him:

• “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”​—Genesis 1:1.

• “Know that Jehovah is God. It is he that has made us, and not we ourselves.”​—Psalm 100:3.

• “The heavens are declaring the glory of God; and of the work of his hands the expanse is telling.”​—Psalm 19:1.

• “He who is building in the heavens his stairs, and his structure over the earth that he founded; he who is calling for the waters of the sea, that he may pour them out upon the surface of the earth​—Jehovah is his name.”​—Amos 9:6.

Yes, Jehovah God is the Maker of all things. But he did more than just form, or make, things. He gave life to all creatures. “With you is the source of life,” the Bible says of Jehovah. (Psalm 36:9) So he is the Giver of life, the Creator. Since Jehovah is the Originator of life, he truly is our Father. That is why the Bible says: “Is it not one father that all of us have? Is it not one God that has created us?”​—Malachi 2:10.

“Well, well!” Sanath exclaimed. “I must say that when we look at the things around us and think about them, it is not hard to see that there has to be an original cause, a Designer, a Life-Giver​—a Creator.”

“If he had the power to create all these things,” Vasana joined in excitedly, “then he must also have the power to fulfill all the promises he made in the Bible!”

To Sanath and Vasana, everything they heard that day made perfect sense, but they wondered what sort of Person this powerful Designer is.

“Let me ask you, Sanath and Vasana, when you look at a child, do you often see in him characteristics of his parents?” Buddhika asked.

“Why, yes!” answered Sanath. “I often say that our daughter looks so much like her mother. She even has her mother’s personality.”

“Yes, she really does,” Buddhika replied. “So we can say the same about our Maker, our Father. By looking at ourselves and the things Jehovah has made, we can find out about his qualities, what kind of Person he is.”

“That’s interesting. I never thought about that,” said Sanath.

“This is actually what the Bible tells us,” Buddhika explained. “See what Romans 1:20 says: ‘His invisible qualities are clearly seen from the world’s creation onward, because they are perceived by the things made, even his eternal power and Godship.’” Sanath asked how this was the case.

“Well, Sanath, think about the love that a father has for his children. A good father, like you, always cares for his children. Sometimes a child might be disobedient or disrespectful to his father, but the father would still provide for and love the child. Why would a father do this? It is because Jehovah created in parents the capacity for natural affection and love for their children. This love, Sanath, is a reflection of the love that Jehovah has for us.

“Even if we did not know Jehovah, he would still provide for us through the things he has made,” Buddhika continued. “That is why the Bible says at Matthew 5:45: ‘Prove yourselves sons of your Father who is in the heavens, since he makes his sun rise upon wicked people and good and makes it rain upon righteous people and unrighteous.’ We certainly benefit from rain and sunshine, don’t we? They keep us alive and help us to grow our food. And Jehovah continues to supply us with these essentials whether we show any gratitude or not. Is this not evidence that Jehovah is a God of love? In fact, the Bible says that love is Jehovah’s principal quality; it is the essence of Jehovah God. At 1 John 4:8, we read that ‘God is love.’”

Next, Buddhika asked Sanath to think about the quality of justice. “As a good father, you love and care for your children in a just or fair manner, don’t you? You also teach them to respect others and to live by the standards of behavior that you believe will help them grow up to be responsible people. It is obvious that humans have a yearning for justice, both for themselves and their families. We want to be treated justly, and we want people to respect our need for justice. Why? Again, it is because we are reflecting the qualities of our Creator.”

Buddhika then showed Sanath and Vasana these scriptures about Jehovah God:

• “All his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness, with whom there is no injustice.”​—Deuteronomy 32:4.

• “He is a lover of righteousness and justice.”​—Psalm 33:5.

Yes, we love justice because Jehovah, our Creator, loves justice, and we are created in his image, that is, we are created with many of Jehovah’s qualities, which we can manifest to some degree in our life. (Genesis 1:27) But Jehovah did not leave it to us to determine what is just and what is not. He has established standards and laws by which he wants his earthly children to live. It is when God’s laws are broken that injustice occurs.

“There is another remarkable thing I want you to think about,” Buddhika continued. “Do you know that the laws of most countries are in many ways similar to those that were written in the Bible thousands of years ago?” Sanath and Vasana were surprised.

“For example,” Buddhika went on, “the laws of many lands include prohibitions against murder, stealing, and adultery. These were all written down in the Bible more than 3,500 years ago. When we live by these just standards from Jehovah God, we are reflecting God’s justice, and we can have a happier and more satisfying life.”

After listening to all that Buddhika had said, Sanath and Vasana now appreciated that Jehovah is a loving Person and a God of justice. They had always felt that love and justice were among the most important qualities that people should show in their dealings with others. They had always tried to be loving and just with their children. Now they understood that these deep-seated desires were actually a reflection of the qualities of the Creator, Jehovah God.

Sanath was really excited about getting to know the qualities of Jehovah. It made Jehovah real to him​—so much so that he began to think that perhaps he should do something about showing more love to his wife and children. He thought that it would be good to imitate Jehovah by being loving, just, and fair with everyone.

“That is very good, Sanath,” Buddhika responded happily. “The way you are thinking is very much in harmony with what the Bible recommends. In fact, there is a very famous statement in the Bible that I want to show you.” Opening the Bible, Buddhika read the following words to Sanath:

• “All things, therefore, that you want men to do to you, you also must likewise do to them.”​—Matthew 7:12.

Buddhika said that Jehovah has many other fine qualities besides love and justice. Sanath and Vasana wanted Buddhika to show them more about Jehovah’s wonderful qualities.

Buddhika explained that the things God has made also reveal some of his other qualities. He read to Sanath and Vasana this interesting verse from the Bible.

• “How many your works are, O Jehovah! All of them in wisdom you have made. The earth is full of your productions.”​—Psalm 104:24.

“Even the tiniest insects can show us something about the wisdom of Jehovah,” Buddhika said. “For example, the Bible talks about the instinctive wisdom of the ant.”

Buddhika reminded Sanath that they had often seen ants busily nipping off pieces of leaves to carry to their nests. How do they know to do this? One of the Bible writers explained that the ant is “instinctively wise.” Who, though, made it that way? Who put this instinctive wisdom in the ant? The Bible answers that it was Jehovah, the Producer of heaven and earth.​—Proverbs 30:24, 25.

“I have to agree that creatures with such instinctive wisdom must have had a Designer and Creator,” replied Sanath.

Buddhika then said something that made a deep impression on Sanath and Vasana: “Do you realize that our very existence depends on Jehovah’s wisdom?” They wondered how that could be.

Buddhika explained that it was absolutely amazing to him that conditions on the earth are just right for life to flourish. The speed of the earth’s rotation on its axis and the speed of its movement in its orbit around the sun are such that solar energy is distributed to the planet’s surface in the best way possible. Gravity keeps earth’s vital atmosphere​—consisting of just the right mixture of gases—​from escaping. Yet, the gravitational pull is not so strong as to hamper our freedom of movement. There is also a vast supply of water, which is absolutely essential for life to continue. Even the soil is filled with nourishment that readily combines with water to be absorbed and used by plants.

“I strongly believe that it could not be by blind chance that all these things are the way they are,” said Buddhika. “I am convinced that it is the Source of unlimited wisdom, Jehovah God, who puts into operation all that is necessary for life to exist.”

Sanath and Vasana nodded in silent agreement.

Buddhika mentioned another quality of God that impressed them​—power. Sanath wanted to see what the Bible has to say about Jehovah’s power. Buddhika opened the Bible and read this verse to him:

• “O Sovereign Lord Jehovah! Here you yourself have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm.”​—Jeremiah 32:17.

“We can get some idea of Jehovah’s great power by considering the power of the sun,” said Buddhika. “When you stand outside on a bright, sunny day, you feel the warmth of the sun, don’t you? Have you any idea how powerful the sun is?”

“I know it can get very hot around here before the monsoon season,” answered Sanath, and Vasana agreed.

Buddhika told them that he had read that at the sun’s core, the temperature is about 27 million degrees Fahrenheit (15 million degrees Celsius). If you could take a pinhead-sized piece of the sun’s core and put it here on the earth, you could not safely stand within about 100 miles (150 km) of that tiny heat source! Every second, the sun emits energy equivalent to the explosion of many hundreds of millions of nuclear bombs.

“If the sun has such tremendous power, what power must the Maker of the sun have?” Buddhika asked. “We cannot even imagine his power. When we observe the sun, we see just a tiny evidence of the boundless power of its Creator, Jehovah.”

Sanath and Vasana had to agree with Buddhika that all these wonderful things could not have happened by chance. There had to be a Creator. They began to understand that although the Creator, Jehovah, is an invisible Spirit, he is a real Person who displays perfect love, justice, wisdom, and power in all the things he has made.

All the information that Buddhika shared about Jehovah really impressed Sanath, but something was still troubling him. He asked Buddhika: “If Jehovah is such a powerful and loving Person who created all things, why is there so much trouble on earth? Why do we have so many problems?”

“This is a very good question, and many people have been puzzled by it,” Buddhika told Sanath. “When we consider the qualities of Jehovah God, it should be clear that the current bad conditions on earth cannot be what he wants for his earthly children. For this reason, to understand why things are the way they are, we need to understand what God’s original purpose for the earth was and what has happened to it.”

Buddhika then explained to Sanath how Jehovah God felt when he finished his earthly creative work. Here is the verse that Buddhika read:

• “God saw everything he had made and, look! it was very good.”​—Genesis 1:31.

The crowning glory of Jehovah’s creation was the first human couple. Their names were Adam and Eve. God created them perfect, just as the rest of his creation was, so that they could live forever on earth. God put them in a beautiful park called the garden of Eden. There, they were supplied with everything they needed for a happy life. They lacked nothing. (Genesis 2:8, 9) Furthermore, Jehovah told them to have many children and fill the earth and subdue it. (Genesis 1:28) This means that eventually the whole planet would become one large Paradise filled with a perfect, happy family of people. What a marvelous prospect!

What went wrong? Buddhika showed Sanath a simple explanation from the Bible:

• “Through one man sin entered into the world and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men because they had all sinned.”​—Romans 5:12.

As a loving Father, Jehovah God gave Adam and Eve certain rules, or standards, by which they could continue to live and care for the paradise. (Genesis 2:15-17) And as a wise Father, Jehovah did not force them to do what he said but allowed them to show their love for him by choosing to be his obedient children. Like us, Adam and Eve had freedom of choice. What did they do?

Sadly, Adam and Eve chose not to follow the direction of their Creator. They went their own way. Because of this, they sinned. To sin means to miss the mark of perfection. Soon, Adam and Eve began to grow old and die. This was exactly what Jehovah God had said would happen to them if they did not hold to his standards.​—Genesis 2:17.

Since all of us are the offspring of Adam and Eve, we have inherited their imperfection, and that is why we grow old and die. However, to reassure Sanath, Buddhika pointed out that Jehovah’s purpose for mankind has not changed. As a loving Father, Jehovah still wants humans to enjoy life on a paradise earth. Buddhika showed Sanath and Vasana this Bible verse:

• “This is what Jehovah has said, the Creator of the heavens, He the true God, the Former of the earth and the Maker of it, He the One who firmly established it, who did not create it simply for nothing, who formed it even to be inhabited.”​—Isaiah 45:18.

Buddhika reminded Sanath and Vasana of all the beautiful promises in the Bible. There would be no more sickness, pain, and suffering; there would be plenty of food and good housing for everyone; and there would be no more death. All these blessings were part of God’s original, unchangeable purpose for mankind​—life without end on a paradise earth. Buddhika showed Sanath this promise:

• “The righteous themselves will possess the earth, and they will reside forever upon it.”​—Psalm 37:29.

That is what Jehovah God promised, and that is what will come true.