Wednesday, December 18
There is no partiality with God.—Rom. 2:11.
Justice is an attribute of Jehovah. (Deut. 32:4) Justice is closely linked with impartiality, and Jehovah is impartial. (Acts 10:34, 35) His impartiality is reflected in the languages that were used to write the Bible. Jehovah promised that in the time of the end, “the true knowledge” found in the Bible would “become abundant.” Many would understand it. (Dan. 12:4) One way that such knowledge has become abundant is through the translating, publishing, and distributing of Bibles and Bible literature. Jehovah’s people have so far translated God’s Word, in whole or in part, into over 240 languages, and anyone can obtain a copy without charge. As a result, people of all nations are responding to the “good news of the Kingdom” before the end comes. (Matt. 24:14) Our God of justice wants to give as many people as possible the opportunity to get to know him by reading his Word. That is because he loves us all very much. w23.02 5 ¶11-12
Thursday, December 19
Stop being molded by this system of things, but be transformed by making your mind over.—Rom. 12:2.
Do you love righteousness? No doubt you do. But we all are imperfect, and if we are not careful, the world’s view of righteousness can easily affect us. (Isa. 5:20) When people think of a righteous person, many may think of someone who is smug, judgmental, or self-righteous. But God does not like those qualities at all. When Jesus was on earth, he strongly criticized the religious leaders of his day for setting up their own standards of righteousness. (Eccl. 7:16; Luke 16:15) Genuine righteousness is not in any way like self-righteousness. Righteousness is a beautiful quality. Simply put, it means doing what is right in the eyes of Jehovah God. In the Bible, the words for “righteousness” convey the idea of living by the highest of standards—Jehovah’s standards. w22.08 27 ¶3-5
Friday, December 20
I have called you friends.—John 15:15.
Jesus trusted his disciples despite their failings. (John 15:16) When James and John asked Jesus for a special position in the Kingdom, Jesus did not question their motives for serving Jehovah or remove them as apostles. (Mark 10:35-40) Later, all of Jesus’ disciples abandoned him on the night he was arrested. (Matt. 26:56) Jesus, however, never lost faith in them. He was well-aware of their imperfections; yet, he “loved them to the end.” (John 13:1) The resurrected Jesus even assigned his 11 faithful apostles the weighty responsibility to take the lead in the disciple-making work and to care for his precious sheep. (Matt. 28:19, 20; John 21:15-17) His confidence in these imperfect men was not misplaced. All of them served faithfully until the end of their earthly course. Certainly, Jesus set a fine example in trusting imperfect humans. w22.09 6 ¶12