Throughout Jesus’ challenging ministry, the faithful apostles proved to be real friends to Jesus. (Prov. 18:24) Jesus valued such friends. During his ministry, none of his fleshly brothers put faith in him. (John 7:3-5) At one point, his relatives even thought that he had gone mad. (Mark 3:21) By contrast, Jesus could say the words of today’s text to the faithful apostles on the night before his death. The apostles occasionally disappointed Jesus, but he looked past their faults and saw that they had faith in him. (Matt. 26:40; Mark 10:13, 14; John 6:66-69) On the last night with them before he was executed, Jesus said to these loyal men: “I have called you friends, because I have made known to you all the things I have heard from my Father.” (John 15:15) Without a doubt, Jesus’ friends were a great source of encouragement to him. w19.04 11 ¶11-12

How does a person know that he or she has the heavenly calling? The answer is clearly seen in the apostle Paul’s words to those in Rome who were “called to be holy ones.” In addition to the words of today’s text, he told them: “You did not receive a spirit of slavery causing fear again, but you received a spirit of adoption as sons, by which spirit we cry out: ‘Abba, Father!’” (Rom. 1:7; 8:15) So by means of his holy spirit, God makes it clear to anointed ones that they have this heavenly calling. (1 Thess. 2:12) Jehovah leaves no doubt whatsoever in the minds and hearts of those who receive his invitation to go to heaven. (1 John 2:20, 27) Anointed Christians do not need anyone to confirm that they are anointed. w20.01 22 ¶7-8

“The law of the Christ” is built on the best possible foundation​—love. (Gal. 6:2) Jesus was motivated by love in everything he did. Pity, or tender compassion, is an expression of love. Moved by such pity, Jesus taught the crowds, healed the sick, fed the hungry, and raised the dead. (Matt. 14:14; 15:32-38; Mark 6:34; Luke 7:11-15) Jesus willingly put the needs of others ahead of his own. Above all, he showed great love by surrendering his life in behalf of others. We can imitate Jesus by putting the needs of others ahead of our own. We can also imitate him by cultivating tender compassion for people in our territory. When such compassion moves us to preach and teach the good news, we are obeying the law of the Christ. w19.05 4 ¶8-10