You want Gold or better than Gold?

More Durable Than Pure Gold

GOLD is much sought after for its beauty and durability. Much of its desirability lies in the fact that it remains bright and untarnished seemingly indefinitely. This is because gold is resistant to attacks by water, oxygen, sulfur, and almost everything else. Many gold artifacts discovered in sunken vessels and elsewhere still retain their luster after hundreds of years.

Interestingly, however, the Bible states that there is something that is more durable and “of much greater value than gold that perishes despite its being proved by fire.” (1 Peter 1:7) Gold “proved,” or refined, by fire and other processes can attain 99.9 percent purity. Yet, even refined gold perishes, or dissolves, when exposed to aqua regia (royal water), a mixture of three parts hydrochloric acid and one part nitric acid. Thus, the Bible is scientifically correct in stating that ‘gold perishes.’

By contrast, true Christian faith ‘preserves alive the soul.’ (Hebrews 10:39) Men can kill a person who has strong faith, as they did with Jesus Christ. But possessors of genuine faith are given this promise: “Prove yourself faithful even to death, and I will give you the crown of life.” (Revelation 2:10) Those who die in faith remain in God’s memory, and he will resurrect them. (John 5:28, 29) No amount of gold can accomplish that. In this respect, faith is truly of much greater value than gold. For faith to have such excelling value, however, it must also be proved, or tested. In fact, it is ‘the tested quality of faith’ that Peter said is of greater value than gold. Jehovah’s Witnesses would be happy to help you to study the Bible in order for you to develop and maintain strong faith in the true God, Jehovah, and in his Son, Jesus Christ. This, according to Jesus, “means everlasting life.”—John 17:3.

Faith Gives Us Courage

Faith Gives Us Courage

Faith strengthens us to declare God’s word with courage. Enoch courageously foretold the execution of divine judgment. “Look!” he said, “Jehovah came with his holy myriads, to execute judgment against all, and to convict all the ungodly concerning all their ungodly deeds that they did in an ungodly way, and concerning all the shocking things that ungodly sinners spoke against him.” (Jude 14, 15) Upon hearing such words, Enoch’s godless enemies surely wanted to kill him. Yet, he boldly spoke out in faith, and God “took him” by putting him to sleep in death, apparently without allowing him to suffer its pangs. (Genesis 5:24; Hebrews 11:5) We do not experience such miracles, but Jehovah answers our prayers so that we can declare his word with faith and courage.—Acts 4:24-31.

By faith Noah “constructed an ark for the saving of his household.” (Hebrews 11:7; Genesis 6:13-22) Noah was also “a preacher of righteousness” who courageously declared God’s warning to his contemporaries. (2 Peter 2:5) They must have scoffed at his message about a coming Deluge, even as some scoff when we provide Scriptural proof that the present system of things will soon be destroyed. (2 Peter 3:3-12) Like Enoch and Noah, however, we can deliver such a message because of our God-given faith and courage.

http://www.watchtower.org/e/20090501/article_01.htm

A tree is beautiful; it is God’s creation, but it is not intelligent.

Man is intelligent, in God’s image, and are we to believe that God loves a tree more than man, that a tree after it is cut down will sprout and grow again, but man—no; even though he has lived in his miseries here, God torments him more after death? None of us like death. We should like to sprout again as a green tree does, and we should like to live in pleasant surroundings, if only we knew how.

For there exists hope for even a tree.
If it gets cut down, it will even sprout again,
And its own twig will not cease to be.
 

If its root grows old in the earth
And in the dust its stump dies,At the scent of water it will sprout
And it will certainly produce a bough like a new plant.
 

But an able-bodied man dies and lies vanquished;
And an earthling man expires, and where is he?

-Job 14:7-10, Dy

“Make My Heart Rejoice”

Have you ever purchased a gift for a close friend and then watched your friend’s face beam with surprise and appreciation upon receiving it? You probably thought long and hard about what type of gift would be appropriate for that person. Now consider this question: What kind of gift can you offer your Creator, Jehovah God? At first, the very idea might sound absurd. What does the Almighty need from a mere human? What could you possibly give him that he does not already possess? The Bible answers at Proverbs 27:11: “Be wise, my son, and make my heart rejoice, that I may make a reply to him that is taunting me.”

Does it really matter to Jehovah which choice you make? Have not enough people already remained faithful for him to give an adequate reply to Satan? True, the Devil asserted that no one serves Jehovah out of love, a charge that has already been proved false. Still, Jehovah wants you to take his side on the issue of sovereignty because he cares about you as an individual. Jesus said: “It is not a desirable thing with my Father who is in heaven for one of these little ones to perish.”—Matthew 18:14.

Clearly, Jehovah is interested in the course you choose. More than that, he is affected by it. The Bible makes clear that Jehovah has deep feelings that are stirred by the good or the bad actions of humans. For example, when the Israelites repeatedly rebelled, Jehovah was “pained.” (Psalm 78:40, 41) Before the Deluge of Noah’s day, when “the badness of man was abundant,” Jehovah “felt hurt at his heart.” (Genesis 6:5, 6) Think about what this means. If you adopted a wrong course, you could cause your Creator to feel pain. This does not mean that God is weak or is ruled by emotion. Rather, he loves you and cares about your welfare. On the other hand, when you do what is right, Jehovah’s heart rejoices. He is happy not only because he has a further reply to give to Satan but also because he can now become your Rewarder. And that is something he wants to become. (Hebrews 11:6) What a loving Father you have in Jehovah God!

*** w03 4/15 p. 14 par. 8 , 11-12 Youths Who Make Jehovah’s Heart Rejoice ***