Tuesday, April 12 By this the love of God was revealed in our case, that God sent his only-begotten Son into the world so that we might gain life through him.​—1 John 4:9.

[Áine]

Tuesday, April 12

By this the love of God was revealed in our case, that God sent his only-begotten Son into the world so that we might gain life through him.—1 John 4:9.

 

For love to be real, it must be backed by actions. (Compare James 2:17, 26.) For example, Jehovah loves us. (1 John 4:19) And he expresses his love through the beautiful words recorded in the Bible. (Ps. 25:10; Rom. 8:38, 39) However, we are convinced that God loves us not just because of what he says but also because of what he does. Jehovah allowed his beloved Son to suffer and die for us. (John 3:16) Can there be any doubt that Jehovah really loves us? We prove that we love Jehovah and Jesus by obeying them. (John 14:15;1 John 5:3) And Jesus specifically commanded us to love one another. (John 13:34, 35) We must not only express our love for our brothers and sisters in words but also show that we love them by what we do.—1 John 3:18. w21.01 9 ¶6; 10 ¶8

Memorial Bible reading: (Daytime events: Nisan 10) John 12:20-50

[Gruder]

A turntable bridge spanned a large river. One day, the switchman in charge of bridge controls was waiting for the last train to come. When he caught sight of the train lights, he stepped to the controls and locked the bridge securely into position, allowing the train full of passengers to cross. At that moment, he heard the voice of his 6-year-old son: 'Daddy, where are you?' The tiny boy was crossing the bridge to look for his father. The train was approaching full-throttled right behind him, but the kid didn't realize it. The Switchman had the lever of the lock before him. If he unlocks the bridge impeding the pass of the train his son will live, but all the passengers will die. Instead, in the few seconds he had to decide upon this frightful dilemma, he could not let all those people die. And so the train went on speedily and safely, and no one noticed the broken body of his son thrown dead into the river by the onrushing train. Nor were any of the passengers aware of the great sacrifice this humble Switchman did to preserve their lives. This illustration can help us understand just a tiny fraction of the pain our God Jehovah must have felt when he sacrificed His son to bridge the gap between eternal life and us. And how does He feel when we speed through life without a thought for what He has done for us sacrificing His own son?

[Old]

3 hours ago, Gruder said:

A turntable bridge spanned a large river. One day, the switchman in charge of bridge controls was waiting for the last train to come. When he caught sight of the train lights, he stepped to the controls and locked the bridge securely into position, allowing the train full of passengers to cross. At that moment, he heard the voice of his 6-year-old son: 'Daddy, where are you?' The tiny boy was crossing the bridge to look for his father. The train was approaching full-throttled right behind him, but the kid didn't realize it. The Switchman had the lever of the lock before him. If he unlocks the bridge impeding the pass of the train his son will live, but all the passengers will die. Instead, in the few seconds he had to decide upon this frightful dilemma, he could not let all those people die. And so the train went on speedily and safely, and no one noticed the broken body of his son thrown dead into the river by the onrushing train. Nor were any of the passengers aware of the great sacrifice this humble Switchman did to preserve their lives. This illustration can help us understand just a tiny fraction of the pain our God Jehovah must have felt when he sacrificed His son to bridge the gap between eternal life and us. And how does He feel when we speed through life without a thought for what He has done for us sacrificing His own son?

Good illustration, an oldie goldie if there ever was one.

[Gruder]

18 hours ago, Old said:

Good illustration, an oldie goldie if there ever was one.

It still hits home every time I come across it!