The Watchtower Society and John and Morton Edgar - A2Z.org

That is exactly what happens to us. When we haveMossomed forth into love of the brethren, we are a markfor Satan. He is not the adversary of the world, for thewhole world, we are told, already lies in the wicked one(1 John 6 : 19, R.V.), but he is the adversary of those whoshow the spirit of Christ, the spirit of love ; and the morewe manifest love of the brethren, the more we are a preyfor Satan. It is he who sends along the insects of troubleto suck the sweetness out of our lives and to carry awayour vitality.Insects, many of them, are beautiful to look at; frequentlythey appear quite insignificant; but let one ofthese creatures alight upon our hand or neck or otherexposed part of our body, and begin to crawl over us,how disgusted we feel l Instintively we brush them offor try to kill them. Dear brethren, these insectsrepresent the trials which come to the New Creature.When they visit some of the other brethren, they do notlook so very bad, they appear to us sometimes almostinsignificant, but let them alight upon us, and at once wefind how very disagreeable they are, much more so thanwe had expected. Instinctively we try to get rid of them,but just as with insects, the more we fight against them theworse, as a rule, they become, and the majority of themare poisonous.In sending us trials for the purpose of suc~ing thesweetness out of our lives, and poisoning us, Satan succeedsso far as the body is concerned. Our pollen, ourhuman vitality, goes with the trials. But it is just herethat Satan'defeats his own ends, because by these sametrials, the New Creature is strengthened in character, andlearns how to sympathise with others who are passinrthrough similar experiences. We are being prepared inthe same way that Jesus was prepared, for "it becamehim for whom are all things, and by whom are all things,in bringiq many sons unto glory, to make the captain o