Sunday, November 13 No greater joy do I have than this: that I should hear that my children go on walking in the truth.​—3 John 4.

[Áine]

Sunday, November 13

No greater joy do I have than this: that I should hear that my children go on walking in the truth.—3 John 4.

 

Can you imagine how happy the apostle John felt when he heard that those whom he had helped to learn the truth were continuing to serve Jehovah faithfully? They faced many problems, and John was working hard to strengthen the faith of these loyal Christians whom he viewed as his spiritual children. Similarly, we feel happy when our children, whether natural or spiritual, dedicate themselves to Jehovah and persevere in serving him. (3 John 3) About 98 C.E., Jehovah’s holy spirit moved John to write three letters. The purpose of those letters was to motivate loyal Christians to maintain their faith in Jesus and to keep on walking in the truth. John was concerned about the effect that false teachers were having on the congregations. (1 John 2:18, 19, 26) Those apostates claimed to know God, but they did not obey Jehovah’s commands. w20.07 20 ¶1-3

[trottigy]

Sometimes when a friend or family member is DFd we think it's us who is leaving them, but it is not! John had the correct perspective.

 

He said at 1 John 2 "19They went out from us, but they were not of our sort; for if they had been of our sort, they would have remained with us. But they went out so that it might be shown that not all are of our sort."

 

They chose a different path and to get off of the one the had earlier dedicated themselves to.

 

It's important for us to remember and have the correct perspective, the same as John, "they left us" - NOT the other way around. We can only hope that one day THEY change and return. It's not us, on the path to life, to change course and try and pick them up. That just leads to us leaving too.

 

Jehovah, the judge of all the earth, and His son who He appointed to finish the judging will do what's just. It's in us to trust them.

Edited November 13, 2022 by trottigy

[Áine]

7 hours ago, trottigy said:

Sometimes when a friend or family member is DFd we think it's us who is leaving them, but it is not! John had the correct perspective.

 

He said at 1 John 2 "19They went out from us, but they were not of our sort; for if they had been of our sort, they would have remained with us. But they went out so that it might be shown that not all are of our sort."

 

They chose a different path and to get off of the one the had earlier dedicated themselves to.

 

It's important for us to remember and have the correct perspective, the same as John, "they left us" - NOT the other way around. We can only hope that one day THEY change and return. It's not us, on the path to life, to change course and try and pick them up. That just leads to us leaving too.

 

Jehovah, the judge of all the earth, and His son who He appointed to finish the judging will do what's just. It's in us to trust them.

How very true Jerry and it’s only Jehovah that can give us the strength by his Holy Spirit to develop the correct perspective and to also remember that it’s Jehovah who does the judging and not ourselves (thankfully) 🙏