HOW JEHOVAH IS LEADING US

How Is Your Meeting Attendance?

Some Kingdom publishers have been attending meetings regularly since childhood.  "When my sisters and I were growing up in the 1930's," recalls one full-time minister of Jehovah's Witnesses, "we did not have to ask our parents if we were going to the meeting.  We knew that we were going unless we  were ill.  Our family just did not miss meetings."  Like the prophetess Anna, this sister is "never missing" from Jehovah's place of worship. -Luke 2:36, 37.

Are you among those who attend Christian meetings regularly, or have you become sporadic in this respect?  Some Christians who thought that they were doing well decided to make sure.  For a few weeks, they made a note of every meeting they attended.  When they reviewed the record at the end of the designated period, they were surprised at the number of meetings they had missed.

'It is no wonder,' someone might say.  'People are under so much pressure today that it is not easy for them to be regular at meetings.'  It is certainly true that we are living in stressful times.  What is more,  the pressure will undoubtedly increase.  (2 Timothy 3:13) But does that not make it all the more critical to attend meetings regularly?  Without a steady  diet of wholesome spiritual food to sustain us, we cannot hope to withstand the pressure that this system brings to bear.  Why, without regular meeting association we might be tempted to forsake "the path of the righteous" altogether!  (Proverbs 4:18)  True, when we arrive home at the end of a hard day, we may not always feel inclined to attend a meeting.  When we do attend despite our fatigue,  however, we benefit ourselves and we encourage our fellow Christians at the Kingdom Hall.

Hebrews 10:25 suggest another important reason why we should be regular in meeting attendance.  There the apostle Paul exhorts fellow Christians to gather themselves together  'all the more so as they behold the day drawing near.'  yes, we must not lose sight of the fact that "the day of Jehovah" is drawing near.  (2 Peter 3:12) If we were to conclude that the end of this system is a long way off, we might begin allowing personal  pursuits to crowd out necessary spiritual activities, such as meeting attendance.   Then, as Jesus warned, 'suddenly that day could be instantly upon us.' -Luke 21:34.

Next time: Be a Good Listener

Watchtower, 2000