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STUDY ARTICLE 14

“By This Everybody Will Know You My Disciples”

“By This Everybody Will Know You My Disciples”

“By this all will know that you are my disciples—if you have love among yourselves.”​—JOHN 13:35.

SONG 106 Cultivating the Quality of Love

WETIN WE COMING LEARN? a

Wetin plenty people can say when they see how Jehovah Witnesses can show love to each other? (See paragraph 1)

1. Wetin plenty people can notice when they attend our meetings the first time? (Also see the picture.)

 IMAGINE one man and his wife attending the meeting for the first time to the Kingdom Hall. The way the brother and sister them were friendly and show love to each other really touch the man and his wife heart. When they were going home, the wife tell her husband that, ‘This people them different from other people we na see, and I really like to be around them.’

2. Wetin can make some people to stop serving Jehovah?

2 The love among true Christians, really special. But Jehovah Witnesses not perfect. (1 John 1:8) So the more we get to know our brother and sister them, that the more we will see some of their mistakes. (Rom. 3:23) But it sorrowful to know that some people na let other people mistakes to stop them from serving Jehovah.

3. How people can know Jesus true followers? (John 13:34, 35)

3 Yor let look at the theme scripture for this article again. (Read John 13:34, 35.) How we can know true Christians? The Bible say that love. It not say they will be perfect. Also notice, that Jesus not say: ‘By this you will know you my disciples.’ But he said: “By this everybody will know you my disciples.” So Jesus show that his disciples and people outside the congregation will know his true followers by the love they get among their self.

4. Sometime, wetin some people can want know about true Christians?

4 Maybe people who not Jehovah Witness will ask: ‘How love can help us to know Jesus true followers? How Jesus show love to his apostles? And how it possible for us to follow Jesus example today?’ Even we who that baptize Jehovah Witness, we will benefit if we think on the answers to this question them. When we do it, it will help us to show more love to other people, especially when somebody do something that make us feel bad.—Eph. 5:2.

WHY LOVE THAT THE WAY FOR PEOPLE TO KNOW ONLY JESUS TRUE FOLLOWERS?

5. Explain what Jesus say in John 15:12, 13.

5 Jesus make it clear that the love his followers were coming to show for each other was coming be different. (Read John 15:12, 13.) See the command that Jesus gave them: “Love one another just as I have loved you.” What it mean? Jesus say it mean to love other people more than yourself. Or that love must even make you to die for your brother and sister them if it necessary. b

6. How the Bible teach that love very important?

6 The Bible teach that love very important. For example, plenty people like this Bible verse them: “God is love.” (1 John 4:8) “You must love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matt. 22:39) “Love covers a multitude of sins.” (1 Pet. 4:8) “Love never fails.” (1 Cor. 13:8) This one them and other Bible verse them make it clear that it very important for us to show love.

7. Why Satan not able to teach people to love each other and be united?

7 Plenty people can ask: ‘How I can know the true religion? All the religion them can say they the true religion, but each of them can teach different-different things about God.’ Satan na make plenty false religions. And this one make it hard for people to know which religion that the true. But he not able to bring people from all over the world who can show love to each other. Only Jehovah able to do it. We know this because love coming from Jehovah. And only those who get His spirit and blessing can show this real love to each other. (1 John 4:7) That why Jesus say, only his followers will get real love for each other.

8-9. How the love Jehovah witnesses can show to each other na affect plenty people?

8 Just what Jesus say, plenty people got to know Jesus true followers because of the real love they can show to each other. For example, one brother name Ian remember the first convention he attended on one stadium near his house. Few months before the convention, Ian went to that stadium to watch game. He say: “I saw big difference between the people to the convention and the people that was watching the game. The Jehovah witnesses were kind and they dress good and their children behave good.” He also say: “The most important one that, the people were happy and satisfy. That the kind na life I really wanted. I can’t remember any of the talk them that they gave that day, but I can still remember the Jehovah Witnesses good behavior.” c It happen like that because of the love we get for each other. So because we love our brother and sister them we can treat them kind and show them respect.

9 One brother name John felt the same way when he started going to meeting. He say: “The way everybody was friendly really touch my heart. It was looking just like they perfect. Their real love for each other convince me that I na find the true religion.” d This one them and plenty other experiences show that Jehovah Witnesses that the true Christians.

10. What the main time we must show that we love our brother and sister them? (Also see the footnote.)

10 From the beginning of this article, we learn that our brother and sister them not perfect. Sometime, they will say or do thing them that will make us vex. e (Jas. 3:2) When it happen like that, that the main time we must act in the way that will show that we really love our brother and sister them. So, wetin we can learn from Jesus example?—John 13:15.

HOW JESUS SHOW LOVE TO HIS APOSTLES?

Jesus show love to his apostle them even though they use to make plenty mistakes (See paragraphs 11-13)

11. What kind na bad attitude James and John show? (Also see the picture.)

11 Jesus was not expecting his disciple them to be perfect. But he help them to change their way so that they can make Jehovah happy. One time, two of Jesus apostles name James and John, tell their ma to ask Jesus so he can give them big positions in the Kingdom. (Matt. 20:20, 21) James and John show that they were proud and that they wanted to be important more than their friend them.—Prov. 16:18.

12. You think that only James and John show bad attitude? Explain.

12 That not only James and John show bad attitude that time. See how the other apostle them acted: “When the other ten apostles hear about it, they got vex with James and John.” (Matt. 20:24) We can just imagine the way the other apostle them make serious palaver with James and John. Maybe they were saying thing them like this: ‘You who before you coming ask for big position in the Kingdom? That not only two of yor na work hard with Jesus. We qualify to get big position too!’ No matter what they say to each other, they forget that they suppose to always be kind and show love to each other.

13. Wetin Jesus do when his apostle them make mistake? (Matthew 20:25-28)

13 Wetin Jesus do? He not get vex. He not say he was going look for different apostles who will be more humble and always show love to each other. But, Jesus take time to talk with them because he knew they wanted to do the right thing. (Read Matthew 20:25-28.) Jesus continue to be kind to his apostle them even though they always use to make palaver among their self about who the big man.—Mark 9:34; Luke 22:24.

14. What kind na culture Jesus apostle them grew up in?

14 Jesus knew that his apostle them were having that bad attitude because of the culture they grew up in. (John 2:24, 25) The big-big God people in Israel use to teach the people that the only way they can be important that for them to get big position. (Matt. 23:6; compare the video The Front Seats in the Synagogue in the study note on Matthew 23:6.) This big-big God people them also use to think that they better pass other people. f (Luke 18:9-12) Jesus knew that this kind na thinking was making the apostle them to think the same way. (Prov. 19:11) He was not expecting them to not make mistake. And he was patient with them anytime they make mistake. He knew that they were having good heart. So, he take his time to help them to be more humble and show love to each other instead of always trying to be the best.

HOW WE CAN FOLLOW JESUS EXAMPLE?

15. Wetin we can learn from what happen between James, John and the other apostle them?

15 We can learn plenty things from what happen between James, John and the other apostle them. It was wrong for James and John to ask for big positions in the Kingdom. But Jesus was kind and he show love to all the 12 apostles. What the lesson for us? We must not only be looking at what people can do to us but we must also look at the way we will act when they do something to us. Wetin will help us? When our brother or sister make us vex, we must ask ourselves this question them: ‘Why this thing making me so vex like this? The way I vex like this, it show that I get certain bad attitude that I need to work on? I wonder the person who make me vex get some kind na problem they going through? Even if I get good reason to get vex, I can still show love and forgive the person?’ The more we show love to each other, it will show that we Jesus true disciples.

16. What other thing we can learn from Jesus example?

16 Jesus example can also teach us to understand our brother and sister them. (Prov. 20:5) We can’t read people heart like Jesus. But we can be patient with our brother and sister them when they make us feel bad. (Eph. 4:1, 2; 1 Pet. 3:8) If we get to know more about them, it will make it easy for us to not get vex with them. Let look at one example.

17. How one circuit overseer benefit when he got to know the other brother good-good?

17 One circuit overseer remember one brother from one of the congregations he use to visit in East Africa. First, he was thinking that the brother not kind. So wetin the circuit overseer do? He say: “Instead of playing the brother low, I try hard to know him good-good.” The circuit overseer spent more time with the brother. So he learn how the brother came up, and that it make the brother to treat other people like that. The circuit overseer also say: “When I got to know how this brother fought hard to change and the progress he finish making, I started liking him more. Our friendship got thick.” Yes, when we try to know our brother and sister them good-good, it can be easy for us to love them more.

18. What some of the question them we must ask ourselves if our brother or sister make us vex? (Proverbs 26:20)

18 Sometime, we can want go make peace with our brother or sister who make us vex. But first, we must ask ourselves some question them like: ‘I know every thing that happen?’ (Prov. 18:13) ‘I wonder the person not mean it?’ (Eccl. 7:20) ‘I na make this same type of mistake before?’ (Eccl. 7:21, 22) ‘If I try to talk with the person about it, it will make the problem to get worse?’ (Read Proverbs 26:20.) When we take time to think on this question them, it will help us to show more love and just forget about what happen.

19. Wetin you want fight hard to continue doing?

19 Jehovah Witnesses na prove that they Jesus true disciples by showing love to each other. So, each of us must prove that we Jesus true disciples. We can do it by showing love to our brother and sister them even though they can make mistake. When we show real love, it will help other people to know the true religion and join us to worship Jehovah, the God of love. So we must fight hard to continue showing the kind na love that can make people to know we true Christians.

SONG 17 “I Want To”

a Plenty people can want learn more about Jehovah and the Bible because of the true love they see among us. But we not perfect, so sometime it can be hard for us to show love to each other. So let talk about how love very important and how we can follow Jesus example when other people make mistake.

c See the article “At Last, My Life Has a Purpose,” in the November 1, 2012 Watchtower, pp. 13-14.

d See the article “My Life Seemed Good,” in the May 1, 2012 Watchtower, pp. 18-19.

e This article not talking about serious sins that the elders suppose to handle, like the one them that in 1 Corinthians 6:9, 10.

f See what one report say about the thing one big book man talk later on. He say: “They get at least 30 men in the world who righteous just like Abraham. If they thirty, me and my son among them; if that ten, me and my son among them; if that five, me and my son among them; if that two, then that me and my son; if that only one, then that me.”