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Recovery Still PossibleThe Watchtower—1965 | August 1
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24, 25. (a) In what way is Jehovah revealing himself more fully today? (b) What encouragement is given to the individual, involving what? (c) From what source can we expect to find further enlightenment?
24 As already noted, God’s Word makes a strong appeal to the individual. It is likewise true that in this greatest of all inspection times Jehovah, on his part, is revealing himself more fully as the great Individual who, from his heart, is appealing to our hearts, to our whole-souled love and devotion. He is supremely worthy of it. He is not inaccessible. As Paul said to the men of Athens, God “set limits of the dwelling of men, for them to seek God, if they might grope for him and really find him, although, in fact, he is not far off from each one of us.” As God also said to the Jews when in exile in Babylon: “You will certainly call me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. And you will actually seek me and find me, for you will search for me with all your heart. And I will let myself be found by you . . . and I will bring you back.” Finally, recall Jehovah’s grand word of encouragement, with its matchless appeal to the individual: “In the height and in the holy place is where I reside, also with the one crushed and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly ones and to revive the heart of the ones being crushed.” Observe that in every case the heart must be involved; there must be a going much deeper than a mere mental recognition of one’s need. Certainly it can be said of those sincerely seeking Jehovah and desiring to return to him, that he, on his part, will return to them. Recovery is still possible for such.—Acts 17:26, 27; Jer. 29:12-14; Isa. 57:15.
25 There are other interesting and important aspects to consider on this subject, and there is much we can learn for our guidance and encouragement from the Bible. We will therefore look into one of Jesus’ parables. It is particularly appropriate to our theme and has its own distinctive appeal. We refer to the well-known parable, or illustration, of the prodigal son.
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A Young Man Goes AstrayThe Watchtower—1965 | August 1
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A Young Man Goes Astray
1. (a) Why did Jesus frequently use illustrations? (b) How did Jesus disclose the real cause of the difficulty?
JESUS gave many illustrations, causing us to wonder why he so frequently used that method of teaching. Usually the purpose of an illustration is to make a thing easily understood in an impressive way. But there can be exceptions to this general rule, as is evident in this case. The disciples asked Jesus: “Why is it you speak to them by the use of illustrations?” When we read his answer, we are at once struck by his reference to the very things we have been stressing, regarding the need to come to one’s senses and the all-important heart attitude. He told his disciples: “To you it is granted to understand the sacred secrets of the kingdom of the heavens, but to those people it is not granted.” This might seem an arbitrary decision on Jesus’ part, but he went on to show that the real cause of the difficulty lay with the people themselves. Quoting from Isaiah’s prophecy as having fulfillment in his day, he said: “For the heart of this people has grown thick, and with their ears they have heard with annoyance, and they have shut their eyes; that they might never see with their eyes and hear with their ears and get the sense of it with their hearts and turn back, and I heal them.”—Matt. 13:10, 11,15, 34.
2. How did Jesus’ method of teaching serve as a test, with what result?
2 Ah, yes! The majority of the people in Jesus’ day enjoyed listening to him as a wonderful storyteller, as he seemed to them. But they did not want to be disturbed in their view of things or way of life. They did not want the message to penetrate to that extent. Hence they shut their mental ears and eyes so as not to come to their senses and have to acknowledge the need to turn their hearts and their feet in a completely different direction. Mark says that Jesus was “thoroughly grieved at the insensibility of their hearts.” (Mark 3:5) Thus Jesus’ method of teaching by illustrations served as a test under which they failed, resulting in losing even what information and opportunities they had. As Jesus said: “Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.”—Matt. 13:12.
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