The Pastors Son | Page 9

be the best way." The pastor started to
read Genesis, chapter 1, and there was no interruption until he arrived
at Genesis 1, 26.
Several times Walter was on the point of asking some question, but did
not. Now he asked, "father, what is meant by that verse? I do not
understand it clearly."
"I'll read it again for you," said the pastor. "Genesis, chapter 1, 26th
verse. '_And God said, let us make man in our image after our likeness,
and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and the fowl of the
air and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping
thing that creepeth upon the earth_.' Do you understand it now?"
"Not yet. God is Spirit, is He not?"
"Certainly, why do you ask?"
"That verse says that God made man in His image and likeness, does
that mean that man is spiritual?"
"Yes," answered the pastor. "Then my body must be spiritual."
"Oh, no, our bodies are not spiritual, it is only the soul that is in the
body that is here spoken of as the image and likeness of God."
"Then God did not make our bodies, did He, father?"
"Why, certainly He did. Have you never read that God made all that
was made?"
"It doesn't say anything in that verse about God's making a body does it
father?"
"No but it says 'in His image and likeness,' that means just like Him,"
said the pastor.

"Then if I am just like Him, He in turn must be just like me, and in that
case God would have a material body, and would not be wholly spirit."
"Why son, what queer ideas you have. As I said before this verse is
only speaking of the soul; you will see farther on where He created the
body. Now let us proceed."
"Father, what is meant by that part of this same verse, where it reads:
'And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and the fowl of the
air,' etc.?"
"There has been considerable differences of opinion in regard to that
passage. Personally, I think it means that we will have this dominion
after we die and enter the spirit world, for we certainly haven't
dominion over the fish and fowl here."
"James, do you think there will be fish and fowl in heaven?" meekly
asked his wife.
"That is a very absurd question. Everybody knows there will be no fish
and fowl in heaven," said her husband.
"Then how can we have dominion over them if there are none there?"
asked his wife.
"It seems to me that you are both very dense this evening. Let us
continue and these things will clear up as we proceed," said the pastor,
a little nettled at his inability to answer their questions clearly.
Walter had several more questions he wanted to ask on this subject, but
he thought best not to ask too many at one time.
There was no more interruption until the pastor reached Genesis 1, 31st
verse--"_and God saw everything He had made, and behold it was very
good, and the evening and the morning were the 6th day_." Here
Walter interrupted with, "Then everything that God made was good."
"Yes, everything that God made was good," answered the pastor.

"If that be true, God could not have made me sick, for sickness is not
good," said Walter.
"Walter, I believe you are right," said his mother.
The pastor looked from one to the other, then slowly laid the Bible
down in his lap. He was surprised at the turn the conversation had taken,
and he remembered that Walter had on a previous occasion said
something similar. Just what would be the best answer to make he did
not know, so thought he would ask Walter a few questions, and in this
way find out what the boy had on his mind. So he asked, "What makes
you so positive that God did not make you sick Walter?"
"Because God is good and just, and I am His child, and the Bible says
He made everything good and He made everything that was made, so
everything must be good. Besides, I cannot conceive of a just God
making me suffer for a sin some one else committed, any more than I
could think of you, father, punishing me for something that our
neighbor's boy had done."
Like a flash the pastor saw now what the boy had meant when he spoke
of sending him to jail because some one else had stolen some chickens.
The boy was only trying to illustrate to him the injustice of punishing
one person for the deeds of another. Then the thought came, "Shall man
be more just than