July 15th WT study edition
God's Rest - Have You Entered Into It?
subheading, When Someone We Love Leaves Jehovah
parts of paragraph 12, 13, 14, 15 and 17
There may be occasions when our loyalty to this aspect of God's purpose is sorely tested. Suppose, for example, that the only son of an expemplary Christian couple leaves the truth. Preferring "the temporary enjoyment of sin" to a personal relationship with Jehovah and with his godly parents, the young man is disfellowshipped.
Our hearts go out to those parents. After all, their son had a choice, and he chose to pursue his unchristian lifestyle rather than to continue to enjoy close association with his parents and other fellow believers. The parents, on the other hand, had no say in the matter.
But what will those dear parents do? Will they obey Jehovah's clear direction? Or will they rationalize that they can have regular association with the disfellowshipped son and call it, "necessary family business"? In making their decision, they must not fail to consider how Jehovah feels about what they are doing.
Today, Jehovah does not immediately execute those who violate his laws. He lovingly gives them an opportunity to repent from their unrighteous works. How would Jehovah feel, though, if the parents of an unrepentant wrongdoer kept putting Him to the test by having unnecessary association with their disfellowshipped son or daughter?
1 comment:
The subconscious message to the flock is: those who leave the congregation are doing it for sinning. Could it be perhaps an obeying, rightly or not, of the command at Revelation 18:4? (which is just possibly the same voice that spoke to Eve and is deceiving instead of life-saving) It is possible. But there is another command, similar at 2 Timothy 3:5, "from these turn away". This command is from God, I do not know if it applies to this or not.
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