The end of all things has drawn close, and we need to cultivate intense love to cover the “multitude of sins” that we all have. (Jas. 3:2) We need to learn to love our brothers and sisters despite their personality flaws, their irksome habits, or other features about them which may be distasteful to us. For think about it: As this system nears its total collapse at the “great tribulation,” and communications no doubt break down and modern means of travel become impossible, with whom will we be able to get in touch to offer help to them and to receive help from them? Not our brothers in a congregation a thousand miles away, a hundred miles away, or perhaps even twenty or ten miles away. No, but Jehovah God has provided fellow Christians in our own congregation to strengthen and help us. It is particularly these persons near us, our close Christian associates, that we need to love and be loved by. How important this close relationship will prove to be in the troublous times ahead!

21. (a) How might some feel about their Christian brothers? (b) Yet what example in showing love does Jehovah God provide?

²¹ But someone may say: “You do not understand. Certain ones in our congregation do not act like true Christians. They are so exasperating and obnoxious in their ways.” It may well be that some persons have a long way to go in developing true Christian qualities. Yet Jehovah God, our perfect Creator, loves them. He does not wait until we are nearly perfect, or even until we begin to make over our personality to conform to his ways, before he loves us. No, but the Bible says: “God recommends his own love to us in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom. 5:8) Yes, while we were yet deep in a course of wrongdoing and had obnoxious, selfish dispositions, Jehovah loved us. This is the example in showing love that we are invited to follow.​—Eph. 5:1, 2.