Going Out of the Way to Show Love
IT IS truly pleasant to find people who really love their fellowman and are willing to go out of their way to help them. So little of that is done today. But what is the best way to help others?
You have probably noticed that, as world conditions continue to worsen, more, and more people seem to lack direction in their lives. They ask: “What do all these things taking place today mean?” “Where is this world heading?” “What is the purpose of life?” If they could gain satisfying answers to these questions it would change their lives for the better.
Jehovah’s witnesses have learned from the Bible that present world conditions are filled with meaning and portend something wonderful for the near future. They search out every opportunity to call at the homes of their neighbors to explain the basis for such a conclusion. Recent efforts to contact people in the far northern hemisphere show that the Witnesses do not shrink back from hardship to accomplish this.
They Go Out of Their Way—Why?
One of the main problems in getting to the homes of people in the far north is the severe cold. The temperature may plunge to more than fifty degrees Fahrenheit below zero. But frigid weather does not stop Jehovah’s witnesses from showing love to others. Robert L. Hartman, a traveling minister who serves several congregations in Alaska, tells of the coldest day he ever experienced in his house-to-house ministry:
“Twelve or thirteen of us gathered together that day at the Kingdom Hall. It was 47° F. below zero. Several said that they would rather remain inside and write letters to the villages. Thinking that that was what everyone wanted to do, I was getting prepared for a session of letter writing. Then two brothers approached me and said, ‘We are just not very proficient at this letter writing. After we have gone to all the work of getting our cars started and traveling the distance to the hall (one had come fifteen miles), we would like to make some house-to-house calls. Will you accompany us?’ I could not resist such a sincere plea. So out we went at 47° F. below zero.”
Hartman also serves congregations in northwestern Canada. He relates how Rose Hamilton of Whitehorse, Yukon, went out of her way to conduct a Bible study each week with a Mrs. Henry, who lived eighty-five miles away:
“Even in the winter Rose traveled the eighty-five miles each week. Sometimes the car had to be left a half mile to a mile away from the home. One time Sister Hamilton made that trip with the temperature at 40° F. below zero. On the return to the car, while climbing a steep hill, she gulped in large amounts of frigid air and ‘burned’ her bronchial passages. On another occasion this sister walked two miles each way from the car at 10° F. below zero.”
Winter storms can further complicate matters, especially for air travel. Ray Baker and Lyle Nelson, from Fairbanks, Alaska, explain:
“The area near Nome and along the Bering Sea is notorious for severe icing and white-outs. The white-out is a dreaded foe because it can come with little warning, often beginning with a light overcast and then snow. But soon everything becomes white. A pilot must strain his eyes, peering into the snow. He may lose his orientation, not knowing which way is up or down. Then dizziness sets in and one could easily fly right into a mountain or into the ground. More pilots are lost in this area than anywhere else in Alaska.”
In spite of these dangers, eleven of Jehovah’s witnesses went into that area in three small planes in 1973. They report: “We covered an area of over 96,000 square miles. To reach the 24 villages in this territory, each of the three planes flew about 2,600 air miles and we spoke to about 6,000 people.”
Why are Jehovah’s witnesses willing to go out of their way to speak to others about the Word of God? Because Bible chronology and prophecy indicate that we are in the “last days” of the present system of things. Soon a new system of righteousness and peace in a restored earthly paradise will become a reality. (2 Tim. 3:1-5; 2 Pet. 3:13; Rev. 21:1-5) Jesus foretold that the “good news” about this would be proclaimed world wide during the “conclusion of the system of things.” (Matt. 24:3, 14) Jehovah’s witnesses gladly go out of their way to share in this proclamation.
Opposition No Barrier to Showing Love
Most people visited in the far north are hospitable and happy to have someone talk to them about the Bible. But some are opposed and try to make trouble for Jehovah’s witnesses.
A Witness from Canada who, together with a companion, made a two-month trip to visit residents of the north shore of the St. Lawrence River tells of an experience he had in a mining town:
“I began to witness to a group of about six men in a bunkhouse. Two of them were very opposed and began to influence the others. So I left them and started to talk to others in the same building. As the opposers kept getting louder I finally decided to leave the bunkhouse altogether.
“By the time I walked out of the building the two opposed men had worked themselves up into such a frenzy that they came after me. High banks of snow and a building cut off any hope of escape.”
What would the Witness do? Would he try to effect a compromise, agreeing to stop preaching if they would let him go? What would you do if faced with such a situation? He continues:
“I prayed to Jehovah for help and protection.
“When the men got within twenty feet of me, one of them suddenly stopped and called to the other. They talked together for a few minutes, all the while watching me. Then, just as if they had changed their minds, they turned and walked away from me. I was happy and thankful to know that Jehovah had been with me.”
Additional problems arose for these two Witnesses when trying to find overnight accommodations. In these areas it is necessary to spend the night in private homes, as there are no hotels or other public facilities. At times, because of religious prejudice, people would refuse to put them up. But in spite of difficulties they continued on in their preaching work, reporting: “On our two-month trip we were always provided for. Only once did we end up staying a night in a shed on a wharf.”
“Like Sheep Without a Shepherd”
We read at Matthew 9:36 concerning Jesus: “On seeing the crowds he felt pity for them, because they were skinned and thrown about like sheep without a shepherd.” The Jewish religious leaders of Jesus’ day had neglected the spiritual needs of the common people and had bound “heavy loads” of human traditions upon them. (Matt. 23:4) Is it any different in Christendom today?
Larry Lees, one of Jehovah’s witnesses who recently traveled to a number of remote Eskimo villages in northern Quebec, Canada, relates: “One family told me that no one had ever come to their home and talked to them about the Bible before, although an Anglican clergyman was living in their settlement of about seventy people.”
Besides neglect by their clergymen, unscriptural teachings and superstitions, hold many humble people in spiritual darkness. For example, among the Laplanders of northern Finland are found followers of Lars Levi Laestadius, a clergyman of the nineteenth century. These people have been taught that gaining God’s approval does not require study of the Bible and application of its principles in one’s life. All that is necessary, they say, is to confess one’s sins to the preacher, who then pronounces them forgiven. Concerning such people in the Kusaamo area a Witness from Finland observes:
“Even now an orthodox follower of Laestadius is not allowed to buy a television set, which the preachers call ‘hell’s machine,’ ‘window to Sodom,’ etc. These clergymen call the television antenna the seven-headed beast of Revelation, because the first antennas that were installed in Kusaamo had seven projecting arms. They have also referred to school gates as ‘the gates of hell’ and preached that ‘no one who went to a public school would ever gain salvation.’”
Indeed, there is a great need for Jehovah’s witnesses to go into these remote places to help the people spiritually. Many of these people greatly appreciate the opportunity to gain knowledge of the Bible.
Appreciative of Bible Truth
Ray Baker relates an experience his group had upon landing their plane in the village of Buckland, Alaska, near the Arctic circle:
“As soon as we shut down the engine we were surrounded by forty or fifty curious fathers, mothers and children. We told them that we would soon be visiting their homes to talk to them about the Bible. When we called at the houses we often found whole families gathered together waiting for us, Bible in hand.”
A group who recently visited isolated Indian villages in northern Manitoba received the following letter from Mr. Maxwell Bee, chief of a reserve that they had visited:
“Just a short note to thank you for the help we received from the two men who visited our reserve to tell us about the Bible and how we can live in peace. We hope that they will come back soon. The longer they stay, the better. Again, thank you.”
Sharing Bible truth with others is the finest way to show love to them. It gives meaning to their lives now and a sure hope for the future. Jehovah’s witnesses are happy to go out of their way to share such good news with their neighbors.