Let's Examine the Scriptures Every Day 2022
Tuesday, March 1, 2022
Happy are you when people hate you (Luke 6:22).
We do not seek to be hated or to become martyrs. So why can we be happy despite hate? Let's look at three reasons. First, because when we endure we get God's approval (1 Pet. 4:13, 14). Second, because our faith becomes better and stronger (1 Pet. 1:7). And, third, because we will receive a priceless reward: eternal life (Rom. 2:6, 7). Shortly after Jesus' resurrection, the apostles felt the happiness that he had told them about. Despite being beaten and ordered to stop preaching, they were happy “because God had counted them worthy to be disgraced for the name of Jesus” (Acts 5:40-42). They loved his Master more than they feared the hatred of their enemies. And they demonstrated that love by preaching the good news “non-stop.” Nowadays, many of our brothers continue to serve faithfully despite the difficulties. They know that Jehovah will not forget his works or the love they show for his name. w21.03 25 paras. 18, 19
What helped one sister stand her ground in the face of fierce opposition?
Georgina, mentioned in paragraph 1, managed to stand her ground in the face of fierce opposition from her mother. She explains: “We both started studying the Bible with the Witnesses. But six months later, when I wanted to attend the meetings, she made a radical change. I discovered that he was in contact with apostates, and was using their arguments when he talked to me. In addition, he insulted me, pulled my hair, grabbed me by the neck and threw my publications in the trash. When I turned 15, I was baptized. To try to get me to stop serving Jehovah, she put me in a reform school where there were other young people. Some used drugs and committed crimes. It is much more difficult to face opposition when it comes from someone who is supposed to love you and take care of you.
Georgina tells what helped her endure: “When my mom turned against me, that very day I had finished reading the entire Bible. She had convinced me that I had found the truth and felt very close to Jehovah. He prayed to him often, and he listened to me. While I was living in reform school, a sister invited me to come to her home, and we studied the Bible together. During all that time, the brothers strengthened me. They made me feel part of their families. I could see that Jehovah is stronger than our opponents, whoever they are.”
What can we be sure of?
The apostle Paul wrote that nothing “will ever be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:38, 39). Although we sometimes suffer, Jehovah will never fail us. It will always give us comfort and strength. And, as Georgina's experience shows, she will also help us through our dear brothers.
How would the love that Jesus described at John 15:12, 13 help the disciples? Give an example.
The night before he died, Jesus reminded his disciples to love one another (read John 15:12, 13). He knew that it would help them stick together and endure the world's hatred. Let us think of the congregation in Thessalonica, which was persecuted from the beginning. Those Christians became examples of love and faithful endurance (1 Thess. 1:3, 6, 7). Paul encouraged them to continue showing “even more” love (1 Thess. 4:9, 10). Love would motivate them to comfort the depressed and support the weak (1 Thess. 5:14). And they listened to him, for Paul told them a year later in his second letter: "The love that each and every one of you have for one another is increasing" (2 Thess. 1:3-5). Their love helped them endure trouble and persecution.
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