A People for God's Name

Gustavo learned that God's name, Jehovah, is not a mere point of interest for a Bible student. (Exodus 6:3)  It is a vital part of true worship.  Jesus taught his followers to pray:  "Our Father in the heavens, let you name be sanctified."  (Matthew 6:9)  Speaking of Gentiles who became Christians, the disciple James said: "God . . . turned his attention to the nations to take out of them a people for his name."  (Acts 15:14 In the first century, the "people for his name" was the Christian congregation.  Is there a people for God's name today?  Yes, and Gustavo came to realize that Jehovah's Witnesses  are that people.

Jehovah's Witnesses are active in 235 lands and territories.  They number over six  million ministers, and another eight million interested ones have attended their meetings.  Widely known for their  public ministry, they fulfill Jesus' words:   "This good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations."  (Matthew 24:14)  Why, though, did Gustavo feel that he had found a spiritual paradise in association with Jehovah's Witnesses?  He says: "I compared what I had seen in the world and especially in the seminary with what I found among Jehovah's Witnesses.  The great difference is love among the Witnesses."

Others have made similar comments about Jehovah's Witnesses, Miriam, a young Brazilian woman said: "I did not know how to be happy, not even in  my  family.  The first time I saw love in action was among Jehovah's Witnesses."  A man named Christian said:" I occasionally dabbled in spiritism, but religion was not important to me.  I valued more my social position  and my work as an engineer.  Still, when my wife began studying the Bible with Jehovah's Witnesses, I saw a difference in her.  I was also impressed by the joy and zeal of the Christian women who visited her."  Why do people say such things about Jehovah's Witnesses? 

Next time: What Is the Spiritual Paradise?

The Watchtower, 2001