Many churchgoers are blinded by tradition. To religious leaders in his day, Jesus said: “You have made the word of God invalid because of your tradition.” (Matthew 15:6) The Jews zealously restored pure worship after returning from exile in Babylon, yet the priests themselves became proud and self-righteous. Religious festivals became formalistic, devoid of genuine reverence for God. (Malachi 1:6-8) By Jesus’ time, the scribes and the Pharisees had added countless traditions to the Mosaic Law. Jesus exposed those men as hypocrites because they had lost sight of the righteous principles on which the Law was based. (Matthew 23:23, 24) True Christians must take care not to allow man-made religious traditions to sidetrack them from pure worship.15 Like Moses and Jesus, God’s present-day Witnesses on earth are eager to contemplate Jehovah’s glory. They have not turned away from the glorious good news. The apostle Paul wrote: “When there is a turning to Jehovah [to do his will], the veil is taken away.” (2 Corinthians 3:16) We study the Scriptures because we want to do God’s will. We admire the glory reflected in the face of Jehovah’s Son and anointed King, Jesus Christ, and we imitate his example. Like Moses and like Jesus, we have been blessed with a ministry, teaching others about the glorious God whom we worship. Jesus prayed: “I publicly praise you, Father, . . . because you have hidden these things from the wise and intellectual ones and have revealed them to babes.” (Matthew 11:25) Jehovah gives an understanding of his purposes and personality to those who are sincere and humble in heart. (1 Corinthians 1:26-28) We have come under his protective care, and he teaches us to benefit ourselves—to get the most out of life. May we take advantage of every opportunity to draw close to Jehovah, appreciating his many provisions to come to know him more intimately. Paul wrote to anointed Christians: “We with unveiled faces reflect like mirrors the glory of Jehovah [and] are transformed into the same image from glory to glory.” (2 Corinthians 3:18) Whether our hope is heavenly or earthly, the more we come to know Jehovah—his qualities and personality as revealed in the Bible—the more we become like him. If we appreciatively contemplate the life, the ministry, and the teachings of Jesus Christ, we will reflect Jehovah’s qualities more fully. What a joy to know that we bring praise to our God, whose glory we seek to reflect!
Posted on: Tue, 30 Sep 2014 21:23:54 +0000
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