Which Do I See...The Illusion...Or The Reality?

[Timl1980]

Once again I find myself sitting in front of my computer...a steaming mug of strong coffee comfortably within reach...my mind teeming with thoughts and feelings which I need to get down in writing.

 

This post is for everyone and anyone on this site...it's something I have thought about all week...pondered on and pored over until my brain finally kicked into gear and came up with what I hope will be a suitable way for me to explain the randomness and oddity that is...my brain.

 

To me...personally...it doesn't matter whether you started this website...or whether you have simply been lurking as a guest for weeks or months... (or anywhere in between) ...all of us need reminders and adjustments from time to time. My goal is not to provide such an adjustment to anyone...it's simply a question which I have been asking myself this entire week...and as usual...I came here to share what I have found.

 

I was doing some personal research a couple of weeks ago and ran across a 1986 Watchtower article that spoke to me...sang to my mind and heart in a way that hasn't happened in a while. The main thrust of the article is about apostates and why we should stay away from anything and anyone related to them and their kind...but there were a couple of paragraphs that have had me in their grip for the better part of a week...and I will now share a couple portions of them with you this morning...along with a couple of pictures to illustrate my point.

 

 

What do you see...my dear friends?

 

Depending on where you are from...or what life experiences you have had...this picture can breathe life into literal memories in your personal life...it can evoke feelings, sights, smells, memories of certain tastes or even make you mentally reach out and touch the gnarled branches...feeling the sharp bite of the frosty limbs as the cold instantly saturates your skin and starts to seep into your bones.

 

For some of you who have never experienced this kind of scenery...perhaps it evokes feelings of excited wonder...curiosity...or even, just maybe...depression at all the various shades of bleakness and darkness that present themselves.

 

So... perhaps you are now wondering...what do I see when I look at this picture?

 

At first...some of the same thoughts as those I've just expressed...but then I looked deeper...then I thought deeper...and suddenly...a whole different thought process jumped out at me...and I will share that with you now.

 

Friends...believe it or not...this is how some people view our spiritual paradise...they see it as a bleakness...a darkness that engulfs them in a cold bitterness until they start to lash out at everyone and everything around them...they see broken and damaged trees of little to no value...and thus they grab a chainsaw and set about hacking and slashing...determined to bring down as many trees as possible before they leave.

 

Of course...I am speaking about Satan and his followers...which include all the apostates. 

 

Satan has blanketed this world in a spiritual darkness that has brought about an icy winter which never seems to end...and his only interest is in taking as many people with him as he can...before he is put to sleep forever.

 

Some of our brothers and sisters become disillusioned...the end hasn't come...still...and they simply drift away. Others...they fall prey to one or more of Satan's traps and suddenly this spiritual paradise comes to look like the picture above...they still see the trees...but suddenly the bright green foliage has been stripped away...suddenly the snow has fallen all around them without them even noticing and now all they can see are the ugly and gnarled branches of a bunch of rough looking trees that look twisted and bent. Any and all contact brings about searing pain from their own hardened consciences...and thus they start to lash out...breaking off any fellow Christian's "twig" or "branch" within arm's reach...until they leave...or are put out!

 

Par 3 of this 1986 Watchtower study article brings out: "But being in Jehovah’s spiritual paradise is not something we can take for granted. We came into this paradise voluntarily; we can walk right out (or be put out) if we go into unbelief or willfully violate Jehovah’s righteous laws."

 

Thankfully some are returning...thankfully some are starting to understand the simple unvarnished truth...they are finally starting to remember REALITY: 

 

 

 

 

This, my dear brothers and sisters...is the simplest yet most profound visual example I could find that demonstrates how it feels to be one of Jehovah's people...not ALL the time...but when compared to the bone chilling cold dark of winter that Satan and his system offers.

 

Paragraph four of this beautiful article gave me the chills, my friends...and that is why I'm sharing it, the article it came from and my personal thoughts on it...with each and every one of you!

 

Par 4: "To borrow from a proverbial saying, we could come to the point where we would find it difficult, perhaps even impossible, to see the forest of the spiritual paradise because of looking so closely at the imperfect human trees now in it. The thrill we had in learning the truth of God’s Word, the grand hope we came to have, the love we developed for God and our spiritual brothers, and the zeal we had for Jehovah’s service can fade. If drastic steps are not taken to reverse any such spiritual deterioration, soon God’s loving requirements seem to be oppressive. The wholesome spiritual food from “the faithful and discreet slave” may seem to be something contemptible, and the brotherhood of loving servants of Jehovah may appear to be a household of enemies. Then the only satisfaction, of a perverted kind, may come in beginning to beat one’s fellow slaves with slander and half-truths.—Matthew 24:45-51."

 

May we never we of that sort, my dear friends. 

 

May we all continue to see through the illusion that Satan is trying to ram down our throats...and see the rich warmth of the beautiful spiritual paradise that Jehovah has provided us.

 

May we all continue to strengthen one another...please don't be afraid to reach out, digitally or in person...take a person's hand if they'll let you...and guide them over to that bench. Help them take a seat...invite them to sit back...close their eyes...and experience fully what Jehovah is extending to each one of us.

 

And please don't forget to wander over there yourself and join them...after all...Jehovah invited you as well...and he did it personally!

 

I love each and every one of you...we are so close...please don't give up now.

 

https://www.jw.org/finder?srcid=jwlshare&wtlocale=E&prefer=lang&docid=1986203

Edited Saturday at 01:04 PM by Timl1980

[dilip kumar]

Thanks for the time you took to write and share your deep views brother. Enjoyed particularly the images. They gonna stay with us for some time.

[Dolce vita]

I too, Brother Tim, really appreciated this analysis of the darkness that one can place on a decor that is nevertheless lush and luminous. Brother Morris liked to say that in everything we go through in these difficult days, prayer no longer seems to be enough, we must move to the next gear, supplication. Thus Jehovah assures us that we will not sleep, the trap will not close on us.

 

Darkness is the light of the enemy. If we start neglecting the maintenance of our armor, it will end up enlightening us. Let's be vigilant!

[Lasheagilbert]

I enjoyed this as well. Last year was a rough one for me. I lost both of my parents in less than a year. My dad suddenly from a heart attack and my mom had dementia which left me as her main caretaker and she passed on Dec 20. So I have been really battling my depression. I will admit that Satan is very cunning and can be very subtle in his approach to lure us away from Jehovah. After my parents passed, I spiraled a little. My meeting attendance was still good but my ministry began to suffer, personal study became almost non existent and my whole outlook was just negative and bleak. I allowed Satan to temporarily get in my head and the first picture is how I felt.
I’m still struggling if I’m being honest but I’m trying to get back to feeling happy again and feeling that peace that Jehovah provides. I deal with depression and severe anxiety but I had very bad seasonal depression as well so winter is very hard for me.
Thank you for the time you spent sharing that. It was very encouraging!


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[Wanda Hill]

Sorry for both your losses, Sis. We gotta hang in there together, it won't be long.

[Qapla]

My brother and I live on the same property. We are both married. About ten years ago my wife's mother died in February, our mother (my brother and me) dies in September and his wife's mother died in December - in the same Calander year. This occurred after my brother and I lost our father and his wife's father had died a few years earlier. All of them were JW's. The only parent still living is my wife's father and he is 90.

 

Although we still miss them. By leaning on Jehovah, we have endured and managed not to let it drag us down.