How We Can Continue to Make Our Love for Each Other Strong?

1-2. (a) Why the apostle Paul say love that “the greatest” quality? (b) What question them we coming answer?

WHEN the apostle Paul was talking about faith, hope, and love, he say that “the greatest among them that love.” (1 Cor. 13:13) Why Paul say this one? In the future, we will not need to put faith in God promise them about the new world or hope that this promise them will come true because they will already be fulfill that time. But we will always need to get love for Jehovah and for people. In fact, our love for them will continue to get strong forever.

² Since we will always need to show love, let look at this three question them. First, why we must show love to each other? Second, how we can show love to each other? Third, how we can continue to make our love for each other strong?

WHY WE MUST SHOW LOVE TO EACH OTHER?

3. What reason them we get to love each other?

³ Why it important for us to love each other? When we show love to our brother them, we prove that we true Christians. Jesus tell his apostles say: “By this everybody will know that you my disciples, if you get love among yourselves.” (John 13:35) Also, when we get love for each other, it will help us to be united. Paul call love the “perfect bond of union.” (Col. 3:14) But we get another reason why we must show love to each other. The apostle John write to the brother and sister them. He say: “Anybody who love God must also love his brother.” (1 John 4:21) When we show love to each other, we prove that we love God.

4-5. Give example about how our love for each other can show that we get love for God.

⁴ How our love for each other can show that we get love for God? For example, think about how our heart can work with other parts of our body. When the doctor touch certain part of our hand and feel the vein beating weak or strong, it can help them to get some information about whether our heart in good condition or not. What lesson we can learn from this example?

⁵ When the doctor touch the vein on our hand he able to know whether our heart in good condition or not. That the same way we can know whether our love for God strong by checking to see if we get strong love for our brother them. If we feel that our love for our brother them na get weak small, maybe it mean that our love for God also getting weak. But when we always showing love to our brother them, we will know that our love for God strong.

6. If our love for our brother and sister them getting weak, why this one that serious problem? (1 John 4:​7-9, 11)

⁶ If our love for our brother and sister them getting weak, it mean that serious problem. Why? Because it show that our friendship with Jehovah na get weak. The apostle John make it clear when he say: “The person who not love his brother who he can see, can’t love God who he not see yet.” (1 John 4:20) What the lesson for us? Jehovah will only be happy with us if we “love each other.”—Read 1 John 4:​7-9, 11.

HOW WE CAN SHOW LOVE TO EACH OTHER?

7-8. What some ways we can show love to each other?

⁷ We can find the command to “love each other” over and over in the Bible. (John 15:​12, 17; Rom. 13:8; 1 Thess. 4:9; 1 Pet. 1:22; 1 John 4:11) But love that feeling in our heart that nobody can’t see. So, how we can show our love for our brother and sister them? We can show it by the thing them we say and do.

⁸ We get plenty different-different ways to show our brothers and sisters that we love them. Let some example them here: “Say the truth to each other.” (Zech. 8:16) “Keep peace with each other.” (Mark 9:50) Take the lead “to show honor to each other.” (Rom. 12:10) “Welcome each other.” (Rom. 15:7) “Continue. . . forgiving each other.” (Col. 3:13) “Continue carrying each other burdens.” (Gal. 6:2) “Continue comforting each other.” (1 Thess. 4:18) “Continue . . . encouraging each other.” (1 Thess. 5:11) “Pray for each other.”—Jas. 5:16.

9. Why comforting other people that important way to show love to them? (Also see the picture.)

⁹ Let look at one of the way them we can show love for other people. The apostle Paul say: “Continue comforting each other.” Why comforting other people that important way to show love to them? One Bible research work say, the word Paul use for “comfort” mean, “standing side somebody to encourage them when they going through serious problem.” So when we comfort our brother or sister that suffering, we can help them to continue serving Jehovah faithfully. Any time we comfort our brother or sister, we show that we love them.—2 Cor. 7:​6, 7, 13.

10. How feeling sorry for people and comforting them work together?

¹⁰ Feeling sorry for people and comforting them work together. How? When you feeling sorry for somebody that suffering, you can want comfort the person and do something to help them. So first we feel sorry for the person, then we comfort them. Notice how Paul show that when Jehovah feel sorry for people it can make Him to comfort them. Paul say Jehovah that “the Father of tender mercies and the God of all comfort.” (2 Cor. 1:3) One of the study note on this verse say, Paul use this word them “tender mercies” to show how somebody can feel sorry for other people. So, the Bible call “God the Father of tender mercies” or the person who tender mercies coming from because he can really feel sorry for people. And that strong feeling can make him to comfort “us in all our trials.” (2 Cor. 1:4) Just how cold water from the creek can make people who thirsty to feel fine, that the same way when Jehovah comfort people who suffering, it can make them to feel fine. How we can follow Jehovah example to feel sorry for people and comfort them? One way we can do it, that to get some quality them that will help us to feel sorry for people and comfort them. What some of this quality them that will help us?

11. According to Colossians 3:12 and 1 Peter 3:​8, what some other quality them we must get that will help us to love our brothers and sisters and comfort them?

¹¹ Wetin will help us to continue showing love and “continue comforting each other” every day? We need to get quality them like fellow feeling, brotherly affection, and kindness. (Read Colossians 3:12; 1 Peter 3:8.) How this quality them will help us? When we feel sorry for our brother them and show that we care for them from our heart, then we will get strong desire to comfort them when they suffering. Jesus say, “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man out of his good treasure sends out good things.” (Matt. 12:​34, 35) One very important way to show that we love our brother and sister them that to comfort them when they in need.

HOW WE CAN CONTINUE TO MAKE OUR LOVE STRONG FOR EACH OTHER?

12. (a) Why we must be careful to not stop showing love to each other? (b) What question we coming talk about?

¹² All of us must “continue showing love to each other.” (1 John 4:7) But it important for us to remember Jesus warning that “plenty people love will get weak.” (Matt. 24:12) Jesus was not saying that most of his disciple them will stop showing love to each other. But we must be careful so we can’t be like people in the world who can’t show love. Since we know this one, let answer this question: What will help us to know whether our love for our brother and sister them strong?

13. Wetin will help us to know if our love for our brother them strong?

¹³ One way to know whether our love strong, that to look at how we will act in certain situations. (2 Cor. 8:8) The apostle Peter talk about one situation. He say: “Above all things, have intense love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.” (1 Pet. 4:8) So the way we will act when our brother them make mistake or do something that hurt us, will help us to know if our love for them strong.

14. According to 1 Peter 4:​8, what type of love we need? Give example.

¹⁴ Let think good-good about what the apostle Peter say. The first part of verse 8 talk about the type of love we must get. It say we must get “intense love.” The word Peter use for “intense” mean to “stretch.” The second part of the verse talk about what we will do if we get intense love for each other. Intense love will help us to cover our brother them sins. We can think about it like this: We can hold our love in our two hands just like cloth that can stretch. And then we stretch it and stretch it until it cover not just one or two sins. But until it cover “plenty sins.” To “cover” mean to forgive. The same way piece of cloth can cover mark on our clothes, that just how love can help us to cover our brother them mistakes.

15. Wetin we will be able to do if we get strong love for our brother and sister them? (Colossians 3:13)

¹⁵ Our love for our brother them must be so strong that we able to forgive their mistakes even if it hard sometime. (Read Colossians 3:13.) When we forgive our brother them, we show that we get strong love for them and we want make Jehovah happy. What else can help us to overlook our brother them mistake and not be quick to get vex with them?

16-17. Wetin else will help us to overlook our brother and sister them small-small mistake? Give example. (Also see the picture.)

¹⁶ Focus on the good-good ways your brother them get and not on their mistake them. Let look at this example. Imagine that you to one get together with some brother and sister them. Yor enjoying yor time together and you decide to take the group picture. In fact, you take two more pictures just in case the first picture not looking good. Now you get three pictures. But you notice that in one of the picture them one brother face tie. Wetin you will do with that picture? You will delete it because you get two other pictures that the brother and everybody in the group smiling.

¹⁷ We can compare the pictures we save to the thing them we can remember. Most of the time we can remember good-good things from the time we spent with our brother and sister them. But suppose during one of the get together, one brother say or do something that hurt us, wetin we must do about it? We must try to forget about it the same way we will delete one of the pictures. (Prov. 19:11; Eph. 4:32) We can forgive our brother or sister small-small mistake because we remember the plenty good time we spend together. That this good-good thing them we want remember about our brother and sister them.

WHY WE NEED LOVE ESPECIALLY IN OUR TIME?

18. What the main points about love we talk about in this article?

¹⁸ Why we want continue to make our love for each other strong? We learn in this article that, when we show love to our brother and sister them it mean we showing love to Jehovah too. How we can show love to our brother and sister them? One way we can do it that by comforting them. We will be able to “continue comforting each other” if we learn to feel sorry for our brother them. How we can continue to make our love for each other strong? By forgiving our brother them mistakes even if it hard for us.

19. Why it really important today to show love to each other?

¹⁹ Why it really important today to show our love for each other? Let the reason the apostle Peter gave: “The end of everything na get close. So, . . . get intense love for each other.” (1 Pet. 4:​7, 8) The way the end of this wicked world getting more close, wetin we must expect? Jesus tell his disciple them about it when he say: “All the nations will hate you because of my name.” (Matt. 24:9) For us to endure this kind na hatred, we need to remain united. If we love our brother and sister them, Satan will never be able to divide us because love that the “perfect bond of union.”—Col. 3:14; Phil. 2:​1, 2.