The grace and love of Jehovah toward his people, and toward all mankind, should inspire his people to render full obedience to him. Obedience based upon fear of punishment is not pleasing to him. If we catch the inspiration of his love, we will rejoice that he has blessings for others besides ourselves, and we will want to proclaim this heart-warming message to all mankind. We will want to tell the whole world about these “good tidings of great joy which shall be unto all people.”—Luke 2:10

How much do we love this message? Is the theme song of God’s love still ringing in our hearts? Attempts to make progress in the truth have caused the glorious theme song of God’s love to die out in the hearts and lives of some, but it cannot be removed from the Word of God. How thankful we should be that the many attempts throughout the centuries to limit Jehovah’s grace by misguided human philosophy have made not the slightest change in his loving design to bless all the families of the earth. As the Lord’s witnesses in the earth, let us resolve to proclaim this glorious plan of Jehovah, the plan which provides for the enlightenment of Adam and all his progeny in order that each and every one of them might have a full and fair opportunity to know him, whom to know aright is life eternal.

We are living in the most momentous period of the world’s history. It is the “day of the Lord,” the time when his vengeance is upon the nations. It is the last days, when, due to the increasing horrors of the time of trouble, the nations will soon realize the hopelessness of the plight and will say, “Let us go up to the mountain [kingdom] of the Lord, and he will teach us of his ways.” (Mic. 4:1-4) We are approaching the morning of a new age. For the world it is still dark, and we can see the rising of the “Day Star” only by the light of prophecy, that “sure word of prophecy which shineth in a dark place until the day dawn.”—II Pet. 1:19

Yes, the millennial morning is about to break, preceded by dark clouds of trouble by which the selfish institutions of earth are being destroyed to make way for the glorious kingdom of the Messiah, that genuine theocracy which will be represented among the nations by the resurrected “princes in all the earth”—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets. For nearly a century and a half the approach of the Millennium has been proclaimed, and now there is more evidence than ever that the healing wings of the “Sun of righteousness” will soon begin to enlighten, warm, and bless all the families of the earth.

Today there is a faithful little company of people throughout the country and the world who unitedly are proclaiming this Gospel of the kingdom, the Gospel of Jehovah’s love. They are doing it by all forms of media in every part of the world, by distribution of free literature, by public and home meetings, and by their personal testimonies. They are not doing it to save their hearers from “second death” in Armageddon but to bear witness to the love and glory of God and thereby to demonstrate that their own hearts have been warmed and enlarged by Jehovah’s grace.

These are making genuine progress in the truth. To them the “path of the just” is indeed “shining more and more unto the perfect day.” (Prov. 4:18) This does not mean that the basic doctrines of the truth must constantly be changing. It does not mean that one “light” must be extinguished that another might shine. It means, rather, that day by day every consecrated servant of the Lord sees more clearly the wonderful manner in which the glorious promises and prophecies of the Bible illuminate the various doctrines of the truth which he has learned, enabling him to rejoice more and more in the firm foundation for faith which Jehovah has provided for him in his blessed Word.

The apostles taught that after their death there would be a great falling away from the faith. Undoubtedly those who retrograded into darkness thought they were making progress in the light. That “progress,” however, was but a yielding to the desire to set up Christ’s kingdom ahead of time, and by the arm of flesh. We have already noted the evils to which this led and the manner in which it restricted people’s conception of the grace and love of God. It is along this line that we are furnished with an infallible guide as to whether or not we are making real progress in the light or whether the eyes of our understanding are being blinded by the “god of this world.”—II Cor. 4:4

Has the new light which we have received increased our appreciation of the love of God? Has it helped us to realize more fully than before the glorious fact that the God whom we worship is indeed a loving God the “God of all grace,” a God who has planned for the blessing of all the families of the earth? If so, then we have made real progress in the truth and will be more zealous than ever to tell the whole world these good tidings of great joy.

On the other hand, if our progress has led to a restricted view of the grace and love of Jehovah, if in our new understanding we have reached the conclusion that only those will be blessed who agree with us and accept the message which, at the best, we are able to present imperfectly, then we have retrogressed, and the glorious light of the true knowledge of God as it shines in the face of Jesus Christ is far out in front, while we have been left behind in the darkness. The truth of Jehovah’s grace is still being witnessed to the world by those who love and treasure it because it is true and because it satisfies their longings as nothing else can do. Practically the entire professed Christian world continues to tell the people that death ends all opportunity to accept Christ and obtain salvation. The Bible stands out against this restricted viewpoint of Jehovah’s grace. The human philosophy that “while there is life there is hope” cannot be applied to God’s dealings with his human creatures. Bible students know this, and they rejoice in the future opportunity for salvation which will be offered to the people in the approaching “times of restitution of all things.”

It is this glorious message which they love to tell out to the nations. They know that only such a message is adequate to comfort those who mourn as a result of the distressing conditions of this “day of vengeance.” They are happy to declare the day of vengeance, in that they explain the meaning of the world-shaking events now upon the nations. But they find no authority in the Word of God for pronouncing vengeance. This belongs to the Lord, and he alone can read the hearts of the people and know the extent to which each individual is responsible for his wrongdoing.

So while we leave the work of judgment with the Lord, let us lift up the banner of truth, the truth of Jehovah’s love, and proclaim it far and wide! Certainly there is opportunity for all who wish to join in this proclamation of divine love and “make the voice of his praise to be heard.”—Ps. 66:8; Isa. 52:8