Does God NEED anyone?
"Can a perfect God be 'lonely', or could he be perfectly happy
by himself? Can a perfect God 'need' anything?"
We are created in the image and likeness of God. Without
delving into the precise meaning of the Hebrew words, it would seem that -- not
too fine a point here -- we are like God. If we are like God, then God must be
like us. I realize, of course, that this doesn't mean we are immortal... or that
we are omnipotent, or anything like that. But... whatever God is, in a perfect
or well-developed sense, we are in some imperfect, developing sense, or we have
the potential (and the inherent desire) to become.
So... since we human beings are social creatures, in need of
social companionship, someone to talk to, someone to be with, someone to love
and be loved by... then it seems to follow that God is too -- only more
so.
It also stands to reason that, if the angels could have
completely fulfilled God's needs socially, there would have been no reason to
create man. What is the difference between the angels and man in regard to the
society of God? We might suppose that there is nothing we could ever give God in
this regard that the angels can't. But then we realize that the angels cannot be
disobedient to Him. Oh, even they may need time and instruction to become more
familiar with the mind and desires of God, and to learn to do exactly as He
wants. But eventually they succeed and get it right. And, evidently, they are
constitutionally incapable of actually disobeying him. They don't go out on
their own to become "Lucifers"!
So it could be this very potential to disobey God that makes
us "better" than the angels, that is, more capable than they of supplying God's
social needs. How? Perhaps because God needs love from those who can choose
freely to love Him. Perhaps because this kind of love, which can be freely given
or freely withheld, is what makes our company so much more fulfilling to Him
than anything the angels can supply. (More fulfilling, potentially, but also
more risky, I might add. Creating human beings with freewill means that,
sometimes, One creates what becomes a Hitler or a Stalin...)
Does this mean God is somehow "imperfect" or "incomplete"?
With what I hope is all due reverence, I would say: 'Yes'...in the sense that
God is a "becoming" God. "I will be whom I will be", He said. "I will become
what I will become." In other words, "I am a God who continues to reveal
Himself, step by step, in a long continuing process. Paramount in that process
of self-revelation is My development of a relationship with My family, My
children! WHY? Because I care for... because I love... because I need... My
children."
I would say that if this view of God's mind/character is
incorrect... and the austere, indifferent, self-satisfied, "complete" "god" of
Mount Olympus is the correct view... then... we would not be here discussing
such a question... because we wouldn't exist... because such a "god" would never
have bothered creating us. Creatures like us would just be irritants!
What? No Bible passages? There are so many...
"It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms;
but they did not realize it was I who healed them. I led them with cords of
human kindness, with ties of love; I lifted the yoke from their neck and bent
down to feed them" (Hos 11:3,4).
How does God want Himself to be perceived by us? One way: As a
strong and patient and loving father, stooping to grasp a little toddler by the
hand, leading it carefully along the path... bending down to feed it.
And...
"How delightful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much
more pleasing is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your perfume than any
spice! Your lips drop sweetness as the honeycomb, my bride; milk and honey are
under your tongue. The fragrance of your garments is like that of Lebanon" (Song
4:10,11).
...how else? As a lover desperately desirous of the company of
his beloved. The Song of Songs is not just about Christ and a mystical Church.
Before there was Christ and the Church, there was God and Israel. And before
there was God and Israel, there was God and the individual human mind which He
created.
God is looking for, yearning for a soul-mate, an eternal
companion to be His sister, His bride... to share His confidences, His
intimacies, His love. And there is room in His heart and His eternal purpose for
an untold multitude of such companions... provided they want the role.
Oh, yes, He made all the stars in all the galaxies too!
