Daily Archives: January 19, 2021

Annual Conventions—Opportunities to Show Love

 LIVING AS CHRISTIANS

Annual Conventions—Opportunities to Show Love

Delegates from different cultural backgrounds posing together for a picture at an international convention.

Why do we enjoy our annual conventions so much? As in ancient Israel, conventions in our day often give us the opportunity to worship Jehovah with hundreds, even thousands, of fellow believers. We enjoy the banquet of rich spiritual food. We also treasure the precious time we spend with friends and family. Our deep appreciation moves us to attend all three days of the convention.

When we have occasion to gather together, we should think not only about what we can gain personally but also about how we can show love to others. (Ga 6:10; Heb 10:24, 25) When we hold a door open for our brother or sister or save only the seats we will need, we show that we are looking out for the interests of others. (Php 2:3, 4) Conventions provide wonderful opportunities for us to make new friends. Before and after the program and during the lunch break, we can make it a point to get acquainted with someone we do not know. (2Co 6:13) The friendships we develop on these occasions can last a lifetime! Above all, when onlookers see true love in action, they may decide to join us in serving Jehovah.​—Joh 13:35.

WATCH THE VIDEO “LOVE NEVER FAILS”! INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONSAND THEN ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

  • A scene from the video ‘‘Love Never Fails’! International Conventions.’ Delegates and local brothers and sisters hug and welcome one another at an international convention.

    How was love shown to visiting delegates at the 2019 international conventions?

  • A scene from the video ‘‘Love Never Fails’! International Conventions.’ Local brothers and sisters pose with visiting delegates for a group photo.

    Why is the unity and love among Jehovah’s people so remarkable?

  • A scene from the video ‘‘Love Never Fails’! International Conventions.’ A group of Korean brothers and sisters hold a welcome sign and wave to people arriving at the convention.

    What aspects of Christian love were highlighted by members of the Governing Body?

  • A scene from the video ‘‘Love Never Fails’! International Conventions.’ A happy girl holds up her copy of the ‘New World Translation’ that she just received.

    How can you contribute to the love displayed at our conventions?

    How has Christian love triumphed in Germany and South Korea?

  • What should be our determination?


How was love shown to visiting delegates at the 2019 international conventions?

The assembly “Love never fails” was not only talked about love in the title of the assembly or in the speeches, but love penetrated every corner of everything that surrounded the assembly, even at airports, where there were more of 200 brothers to give a warm and loving welcome.

One sister says that she breathes love everywhere she goes, in every detail that can be seen. It is as if I were already in paradise, and our assemblies are like a temporary paradise in this world. A place where we live with our spiritual family and these moments, it is as if we were in paradise with our brothers.

The brothers were welcomed with hugs, with so much affection and affection that no brother could imagine. It was a very joyful event and a great demonstration of the love that characterizes God’s people.

The international representatives carried out a preaching motivated not only by love towards our brothers but towards our neighbor, towards all those people who still do not have faith in God, and with the help of the local brothers, they carried out a great campaign of preaching that reflected the great love of these brothers towards Jehovah through loving effort to bring God’s name and his beautiful qualities to all people.

This preaching campaign of the international representatives with the support of the local brothers, allowed us to share and reflect our love with all our people not only in the assemblies but also in the ministry, which allowed us to share more time, get to know our more distant brothers better. and strengthen our relationships with them.

In addition to the spiritual activity, activities were planned with the delegates in an environment of healthy enjoyment where the brothers were able to get to know each other better and strengthen their friendship relationships. A great opportunity to meet many brothers who fight day by day in this battle with the same objective.

Why is the unity and love among Jehovah’s people so remarkable?

The example of Mexico is impressive and a great exemplary sample of the unity of the People of God regardless of the many cultures that exist in Mexico and their differences. The people of God is a single people, the brothers of Mexico demonstrated this with the love that all feel towards their brothers and that it is a worthy example to be imitated by the whole world.

The example of the study with this Brazilian person is impressive and this person noticed it. The great selfless effort that our brothers make for all people out of love for our neighbor and our relationship with our more distant brothers that we hardly know but love them as if we had known each other for a lifetime, this was for this person a great testimony of the qualities of God’s people, but not only for this person, but for the whole world.

The love of our brothers has also been reflected in the effort for so long and even years to translate our new bible into all possible languages ​​to reach our hearts in our mother tongue. An effort and work that magnifies the name of our heavenly Father and that shows how much we care about our brothers.

Another great gift that the assemblies give us are our new brothers, brothers who show the same love as all of us, and we feel so happy and happy that they are part of this loving people and help us strengthen the relationship we have.

Even the authorities saw this love reflected. There was no problem of any kind, quite the contrary … events of this magnitude imply for security reasons that certain security forces attend for anything that may happen. They did so, and more than having to do their work or be in the assembly just for work, they saw and enjoyed the love of our brothers and they realized why we differ from others.

Not only did our brothers focus their love on the brothers and people who visited the assemblies, they also showed their love and gratitude to the security forces and other emergency personnel who were doing their work. These people were participants in the love of God’s people until the phrase: “the world does not need more police, but more Jehovah’s Witnesses.”

What aspects of Christian love were highlighted by members of the Governing Body?

As members of the Governing Body emphasized in their speeches and through the Bible, we have to “clothe ourselves with love because it is a perfect bond of union.” Love identifies us, and loyal love is a very beautiful aspect of Jehovah’s personality that we should emulate.

By cultivating humility, we will foster this love both for our brothers and for our neighbor, and we will be imitating the qualities of Jehovah that the Bible says. And in this way we will be, as Jesus said, “looking for love.” Because Christian love has power, reaching the heart in a unique way where no word can reach or cause the same effect.

How has Christian love triumphed in Germany and South Korea?

In many countries, places were visited where brothers and Christians of the past suffered much and much persecution and how they stood firm out of faith and full love for Jehovah. This surely strengthened the love of these dear brothers and the efforts to keep us whole every day of our lives, as was the case in Berlin and the visit to the concentration camp.

As one brother says, even the guards and those who run the prison had to recognize that our brothers differed and were characterized as a separate people because of the love they professed towards them and towards other people, even living the difficult circumstances they were going through. , love was always there.

South Korea was another example like Germany’s, when they began jailing young brothers in 1953 for refusing military service. The delegates learned much from the unwavering faith of these young brothers and how they held firm to their beliefs and as a result, Jehovah’s power triumphed over these injustices with the release of the last Jehovah’s Witness in 2019 who was imprisoned.

What should be our determination?

Many brothers had to make great efforts, such as the delegates from Venezuela who suffer important consequences from the economic and social crisis that their country is experiencing and yet were determined to attend, because the love for Jehovah and for all our brothers, even the most distant, it is imposed far above any material crisis.

We have to be resolved like the brothers of Venezuela, even with the difficult circumstances that we may be going through personally and our country, to put what really matters first and put aside material or ephemeral things, because love overcomes all kinds of barriers. and it motivates us to praise the name of God as these brothers did.

Any sacrifice that we have to do as this brother from Venezuela said, will be worth it. Just to see the great love that characterized this assembly and that impacted the whole world, it is worth it, we have seen the great blessings that the loving people of God produce and why it is a separate people.



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