WHY 1914 DID NOT BRING DISAPPOINTMENT |
POR QUÉ NO NOS DECEPCIONÓ 1914 |
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After his funeral we returned to Bethel and began to study again. The more we studied the more determined we became to keep going in the work. One thing we knew we still had. That was something no man could take from us. It was the truth of God's Word. We had truly been "called out of darkness into God's marvelous light" and were constantly more determined to give Jehovah praise for that enlightened understanding. How much more truth we were to receive or how we were to receive it we did not know. We did not then see how anyone else could be used as Russell had been. He had written six volumes of Studies in the Scriptures, and we had always expected a seventh. Almost as he died Russell had said reassuringly, "Don't worry, the Lord will take care of it." We were willing to wait and see. |
Después de su funeral, regresamos a Betel y nos pusimos de nuevo a estudiar. Cuanto más estudiábamos, más decididos nos sentíamos a continuar la obra. Sabíamos que al menos una cosa nos quedaba, y era algo que ningún hombre nos podría arrebatar: la verdad de la Palabra de Dios. Ciertamente se nos había “llamado de las tinieblas a la luz admirable” de Dios, y constantemente nos fuimos resolviendo a dar alabanza a Jehová por ese entendimiento iluminado. Cuánta más verdad se nos revelaría, o cómo la recibiríamos, lo ignorábamos. En aquel momento no entendíamos cómo se podría utilizar a alguna otra persona como se había utilizado a Russell. Había escrito seis tomos de Estudios de las Escrituras, y siempre habíamos esperado el séptimo. Muy poco antes de morir Russell había afirmado con confianza: “No te preocupes, el Señor se encargará de él.” Deseábamos aguardar y verlo. |
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Our hope was real; it was a living hope. When Russell died I was but thirty-nine. For sixteen years I had been developing a new Christian outlook. It was not something to put on or take off as suited my convenience. My faith was my very life. I did not now intend to surrender it because the future was momentarily dark. The Bible record is full of those who faced such situations, and Jehovah God always came to their rescue. We believed sincerely he would do as much for us. |
Nuestra esperanza era real, estaba viva. Cuando Russell murió yo solo tenía 39 años. Durante 16 años había estado desarrollando una nueva actitud cristiana. No era algo que me pudiera poner o quitar a conveniencia. Mi fe era mi propia vida. Y no tenía intención de renunciar a ella solo porque el futuro estuviera oscuro en ese momento. El registro bíblico está lleno de personas que afrontaron situaciones similares, y Jehová Dios siempre los rescató. Creíamos sinceramente que haría lo mismo con nosotros. |
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We could not then have realized what we were being prepared for. But the Lord knew what he was doing in permitting these experiences to come to us, and now, forty years later, it is quite clear to us. |
En aquel momento no nos dábamos cuenta de la preparación que estábamos recibiendo. Pero el Señor sabía lo que hacía al permitir que pasáramos por aquellas experiencias, y unos cuarenta años más tarde, lo vemos con claridad. |
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In those few dark years following 1914 we were experiencing the pains of travail. The New World society as it has now come to maturity was then not yet born. The dark clouds which had only begun to gather in 1916 were merely a warning of the approaching storm that was to come as close to wrecking the entire organization of Jehovah's witnesses as anything experienced before or since. The next few years truly proved to be a test of Christian fortitude and integrity. |
Durante aquellos pocos años oscuros que siguieron a 1914 estábamos sufriendo dolores de parto. La sociedad del Nuevo Mundo, que hoy ya ha alcanzado la madurez, no había nacido aún. Los oscuros nubarrones que comenzaron a asomar en 1916 eran solamente un aviso de la tormenta que se avecinaba, que estuvo más cerca de hacer naufragar a la entera organización de los testigos de Jehová que cualquier otro suceso antes o después. Los siguientes años resultaron ser una verdadera prueba de nuestra fortaleza e integridad cristianas. |
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