Yes, sheer loving gratitude should cause us to want to serve Jehovah God. He is the Giver of every good gift and perfect present. (Jas. 1:17) He himself is love, the very embodiment of unselfish, principled affection. (1 John 4:8) He loved the world of mankind so much that he sent his only-begotten Son to earth to die for humankind, to be the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. As the apostle wrote: “The love is in this respect, not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent forth his Son [to die] for our sins.”—1 John 4:10; John 1:29; 3:16.

Not only love for Jehovah God but also love for our fellowman should make us want to serve Jehovah. The greatest possible good we can do for our neighbor is to help him take in knowledge of Jehovah God and Jesus Christ. Why? Because as Jesus himself said, “This means everlasting life”—and what greater blessing can one receive than the prospect of everlasting life?—“their taking in knowledge of you, the only true God, and of the one whom you sent forth, Jesus Christ.”—John 17:3.

Truly, serving Jehovah God is the wise thing to do, for it offers many rewards both now and in the future. A better reason for serving Jehovah is that it is the right thing to do. And the best of all reasons to serve Jehovah is because of love, because of loving appreciation of who He is and what he has done and will yet do for us. These three basic reasons can truly serve as a threefold cord, both for causing one to serve Jehovah and for keeping our service to Jehovah unbroken regardless of the time remaining for this system of things.

Questions From Readers

● We have received quite a number of inquiries from married persons asking about sexual matters, as a result of views that have been widely publicized by worldly sources. These questions have dealt with conjugal acts, birth control, sterilization and abortion. We herein comment on such matters to the extent that we feel authorized to do so.

Marriage stems from a divine source, Jehovah God. It was man’s Creator who provided a wife as a complement for Adam. Was this just for platonic companionship, devoid of sexual acts between husband and wife? Not according to the Bible. It says that God instructed the first pair: “Be fruitful and become many and fill the earth.”—Gen. 1:28.

This helps us to see how Jehovah himself looks at marriage. It has as a primary purpose reproduction or childbearing. (Gen. 1:28; 2:18) This was not to be accomplished by parthenogenesis, the development of an egg without fertilization. Rather, obeying God’s instructions necessitated sexual relations or conjugal acts between the man and his wife. Thus, such chaste and pleasurable intimacy ought not be viewed as wrong or ignoble. It is honorable and sacred, a means to transmit human life. The Bible plainly shows, though, that among Christians intercourse must be restricted to between a husband and his wife. The Creator condemns sexual relations outside of this sphere: “God will judge fornicators and adulterers.”—Heb. 13:4.

Nonetheless, knowing that marital relations also serve to satisfy passionate desires, some persons have asked about certain sexual practices. We have been obliged to respond that it is not the place of outsiders to dictate to a married couple as to what they will do in this intimate aspect of their marriage.

The male and female sex organs were provided by God to be used in fulfilling the noble assignment to be “fruitful and become many.” We need not describe how these organs cooperate to that end. Their design is quite apparent. Married persons recognize the obvious way in which the husband’s organ fits into his wife’s birth canal to serve the serious purpose of reproduction.

Some have contended, however, that absolutely anything done between husband and wife is permissible. However, that view is not supported in the Bible. In Romans 1:24-32, where it speaks of both men and women who participated in immoral sex practices, including lesbian and sodomite acts, the Bible mentions a “natural use of the female.” Thus it shows that to indulge in such perverted use of the reproductive organs so as to satisfy a covetous desire for sexual excitement is not approved by God. This would also be true in connection with married couples; they should not pervert this “natural use of the female.” In many places even the law of the land backs this up, making certain acts between husband and wife illegal. For example, speaking about the United States, Time of August 8, 1969, observed: “Sodomy is illegal in nearly every state, even between spouses.” (Those who have not learned how such perversions are practiced ought to be grateful for that, for Jehovah God urges Christians to “be babes as to badness.”—1 Cor. 14:20.)