“What do you think? A man had two children. Going up to the first, he said, ‘Child, go work today in the vineyard.’ In answer this one said, ‘I will, sir,’ but did not go out. Approaching the second, he said the same. In reply this one said, ‘I will not.’ Afterwards he felt regret and went out. Which of the two did the will of his father?”​—Matthew 21:28-31.

The answer is obvious. Like the crowd who heard Jesus, we would reply, “The latter.” But beyond the obvious, by means of that illustration, Jesus was calling to our attention that doing what the father wanted was what counted. Although the second son said that he did not want to go, he did anyway and was commended for it. Doing the right kind of work is equally important. The second son acted by working in the father’s vineyard; he did not go out and work in his own vineyard.

Who is doing God’s will today? Among the nearly two billion people who profess to be followers of Jesus Christ, how many are like the younger son in Jesus’ illustration, who went out and did the will of his father? The answer is not hard to find. True footstep followers of Jesus Christ would be doing the work that he said they would do: “In all the nations the good news has to be preached first.” (Mark 13:10) Jehovah’s Witnesses, numbering over four and a half million worldwide, are actively preaching the good news of God’s Kingdom and teaching others, pointing to the Kingdom as mankind’s only hope for peace and security. Are you having a full share in doing God’s will? Are you preaching the Kingdom good news as Jesus did?​—Acts 10:42; Hebrews 10:7.