Increasing Earthly Interests of the Prince of Peace

WHO is this Prince of Peace? Why, of course, none other than Jesus Christ, who is also called “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father.”—Isa. 9:6, 7.a

When on earth this Prince of Peace likened himself to a “certain man of noble birth” who committed certain valuable things to his slaves. These valuable things were the earthly interests of his kingdom which he entrusted to his “faithful and discreet slave,” from Pentecost onward, namely, preaching the Kingdom and gathering the Kingdom class by making disciples of people of all nations. Particularly since 1935 this work has been expanded to include the gathering and edification of the subjects of the Kingdom, the “great crowd” of “other sheep.”—Luke 19:12-27; Matt. 24:14, 45-47; 28:19, 20.

The “faithful and discreet slave” class, both in the days of the apostles and in modern times, has been faithfully carrying out its commission, increasing the ‘minas’ or ‘talents’ committed to its care.

Those who are serving God’s kingdom by full-time preaching are usually able to contribute substantially more to the increase than those who are preaching the good news part time. Could any readers of these lines be full-time proclaimers of God’s kingdom by getting more of the spirit of self-sacrifice? For instance, a Peruvian ex-naval officer and his wife moved from their fine home into their garage, thereby saving both of them money and his wife much work, making it possible for them to be in the full-time preaching work. That no doubt was a fine example of first love and initial zeal, but should we not all strive to keep that initial zeal and love burning ever brightly?—Heb. 10:32-35; Rev. 2:4.

And then there is the contributing to the increase of the earthly interests of the Prince of Peace by reaching out for added responsibilities, and, in particular, being willing to accept them when offered. By accepting and discharging servant’s privileges in a congregation, we may be able to contribute more. Are we willing to do this?—1 Tim. 3:1.

But whether we can enter the full-time preaching work or accept a servant’s position or not, most likely all of us can improve our individual ministry; we can work at becoming more effective, more skillful, more successful in our ministry if we are in earnest. We can make progress toward maturity if we keep up our personal study, if we faithfully attend the congregation meetings and if we are regular in the field ministry.

Yes, let each dedicated Christian minister do his part toward increasing the earthly interests of the Prince of Peace.

Questions From Readers

● At times there are changes in viewpoint on Biblical subjects discussed in the Watch Tower Society’s publications. We speak of what we believe as “the truth.” But does “truth” change?—W. P., U.S.A.

Really it is the Bible that speaks of beliefs that are in harmony with the Scriptures as “the truth.” At 2 Peter 2:2 the worship based on such beliefs is termed “the way of the truth.” Yet concerning that “way of the truth” we read at Proverbs 4:18: “The path of the righteous ones is like the bright light that is getting lighter and lighter until the day is firmly established.” So we do not know all there is to know. In fact, even when the post-Armageddon system of things is ushered in we will not know everything. Throughout all eternity there will always be more to learn. This is indicated by what the apostle Paul wrote in Romans 11:33: “O the depth of God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How unsearchable his judgments are and past tracing out his ways are!”

It is to be expected, then, that at times there may be changes in viewpoint. Our basic belief may be sound Scriptural truth, but there may be some details that we did not fully understand in the past. In time, with the aid of Jehovah’s spirit, we get those matters cleared up.

For example, a few years ago we had a fine series of articles in The Watchtower on the