Are You Known by Jehovah? “Jehovah knows those who belong to him.”—2 TIM. 2:19. ONE day a Pharisee approached Jesus and asked: “Which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus responded: “You must love Jehovah your God with your whole heart and with your whole soul and with your whole mind.” (Matt. 22:35-37) Jesus had great love for his heavenly Father and truly lived by those words. Jesus was also concerned about his standing with Jehovah, demonstrating this by his faithful life course. Therefore, shortly before his death, he could state that God knew him as one who faithfully obeyed His commandments. Jesus thus remained in Jehovah’s love.—John 15:10. 2 Many today claim to love God. We no doubt include ourselves in that number. However, serious aspects to consider are: ‘Am I known by God? How does Jehovah view me? Am I known as belonging to him?’ (2 Tim. 2:19) What a privilege it is to contemplate such a close relationship with the Sovereign of the universe! 3 Yet, some who have much love for Jehovah find it challenging to believe that God can know them in a positive way. Some have feelings of worthlessness, so they question the idea of belonging to Jehovah. How glad we can be, though, that God can see us from a different perspective! (1 Sam. 16:7) The apostle Paul told his fellow Christians: “If anyone loves God, this one is known by him.” (1 Cor. 8:3) Your love for God is an important prerequisite for being known by him. Consider: Why are you reading this journal? Why are you striving to serve Jehovah with your whole heart, soul, mind, and strength? If you are dedicated to God and baptized, what led you to take those steps? The Bible explains that Jehovah, who examines hearts, draws desirable ones. (Read Haggai 2:7; John 6:44.) Therefore, you can conclude that you are serving Jehovah because he drew you. He will never leave the ones whom he has drawn if they remain faithful. God views them as very precious, and he loves them dearly.—Ps. 94:14. 4 Once Jehovah has drawn us, we should be concerned with remaining in his love. (Read Jude 20, 21.) Remember, the Bible shows that it is possible to drift away or draw away from God. (Heb. 2:1; 3:12, 13) For example, just prior to the statement found at 2 Timothy 2:19, the apostle Paul mentioned Hymenaeus and Philetus. Those two men had evidently belonged to Jehovah at one point, but they later deviated from the truth. (2 Tim. 2:16-18) Recall, too, that in the Galatian congregations, some who had been known by God did not remain in the spiritual light they once enjoyed. (Gal. 4:9) May we never take for granted our precious standing with God. 5 There are some qualities that Jehovah especially values. (Ps. 15:1-5; 1 Pet. 3:4) Faith and humility distinguished some who were known by God. Let us examine the examples of two men to see how these qualities endeared them to Jehovah. We will also look at a man who thought he was known by God but who took a prideful course and found out that Jehovah had rejected him. We can learn valuable lessons from these examples.
Posted on: Sat, 22 Jun 2013 13:01:44 +0000
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