God pardons or covers over the sins of those who put faith in him. He forgives them completely and no longer takes their sins into account. (Ps. 32:1, 2) He views such individuals as guiltless and righteous on the basis of their faith. Although they were declared righteous, Abraham, David, and other faithful worshippers of God were still imperfect sinners. But because of their faith, God viewed them as blameless, especially when compared with those who had no standing with him. (Eph. 2:12) As the apostle Paul makes clear in his letter, faith is central to having a personal relationship with God. That was true in the case of both Abraham and David, and it is true of us as well. w23.12 50:6-7

Today all Christians have the privilege of offering sacrifices to Jehovah by using their time, energy, and resources to further the interests of God’s Kingdom. We can show that we cherish our privilege to worship Jehovah by offering him our very best sacrifices. The apostle Paul outlines various aspects of our worship that we should never neglect. (Heb. 10:22-25) These include approaching Jehovah in prayer, making public declaration of our hope, meeting together as a congregation, and encouraging one another “all the more so as [we] see [Jehovah’s] day drawing near.” Toward the end of the Revelation account, Jehovah’s angel states the following twice for emphasis: “Worship God!” (Rev. 19:10; 22:9) May we never forget this deep spiritual truth regarding Jehovah’s great spiritual temple and the cherished privilege we have to worship our great God! w23.10 45:17-18

We all want to “continue loving one another.” However, it is important for us to remember that Jesus warned that “the love of the greater number [would] grow cold.” (Matt. 24:12) Jesus was not saying that this would occur on a large scale among his disciples. Nonetheless, we should remain alert so that we are not influenced by the lack of love in the world around us. With that thought in mind, let us consider this important question: Is there a way to test whether our love for our brothers is strong? One way to determine the strength of our love is to examine how we handle certain situations in life. (2 Cor. 8:8) One such situation is mentioned by the apostle Peter: “Above all things, have intense love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.” (1 Pet. 4:8) So the weaknesses and imperfections of others can put our love to the test. w23.11 47:12-13