DAILY TEXT, From today Monday March 6, 2023, Beware of despising one of these little ones (Mat. 18:10).

DAILY TEXT, From Monday March 6, Beware of despising one of these little ones (Matt. 18:10).

Let's Examine the Scriptures Every Day 2023

Monday March 6

Beware of despising one of these little ones (Matt. 18:10).

Jehovah has brought each of us to himself (John 6:44). Let's think about what that means. As he carefully surveyed the world's billions of people, he saw something valuable in us: a sincere heart that could love him (1 Chron. 28:9). Jehovah knows us, understands us, and loves us. Doesn't that calm us down? Jehovah has a deep love for you, and he also has love for each of our fellow Christians. To help us understand it, Jesus gave an example. If a shepherd has 100 sheep and loses one, what will he do? "He will leave the other 99 in the mountains and start looking for the one who is lost." When he finds her, he won't be mad at her, he'll be happy. What is the idea? That for Jehovah, who is like a shepherd, each sheep is important. Jesus said, "He does not want even one of these little ones to perish" (Matt. 18:12-14). w21.06 20 pars. 1, 2.

WHO ARE “THESE LITTLE ONES”?

Who are “these little ones”?

"These little ones" are all the disciples of Jesus. Regardless of their age, they are "like children" because they let themselves be taught by him (Matt. 18:3). Even though they are from different places and cultures, and have different tastes and personalities, they all have faith in Christ. And he, in turn, loves them very much (Matt. 18:6; John 1:12).

How does Jehovah feel when someone hurts or trips one of his servants?

All “these little ones” are valuable to Jehovah. To understand how he sees them, let's think about how we see children. For us, they are valuable. We want to protect them because they do not have the strength, experience and wisdom of adults. Of course, we don't like anyone being hurt, but if someone hurts a child we feel especially upset, even furious. Something similar happens with Jehovah. He wants to protect his servants. And, when someone hurts or causes one of them to stumble, he becomes upset or even enraged (Is. 63:9; Mar. 9:42).

According to 1 Corinthians 1:26-29, how do the people of the world view the disciples of Jesus?

In what other sense are the disciples of Jesus like “little ones”? Well, who does the world consider important? The rich, the famous and the powerful. But most of Jesus' disciples are not like that. For this reason, the people of the world consider them “little”, that is, unimportant, insignificant (read 1 Corinthians 1:26-29). Instead, Jehovah does not see them that way.

How does Jehovah want us to see our brothers?

Jehovah loves all his servants, whether they have been serving him for a short time or for many years. If for Jehovah all our brothers are important, for us they should be too. We want to have “love for the whole brotherhood,” not just a part of it (1 Pet. 2:17). We must be willing to do whatever it takes to protect and care for our brothers. If we find out that we have offended or hurt a brother, we should not wash our hands of it and think that he is being too picky and that what he should do is forget it. What can make some offended? Perhaps it is that, due to their upbringing, they have a very low self-esteem. Or perhaps they are new to the truth and have not yet learned how to deal with the imperfections of others. Whatever the case, we must do everything we can to fix the situation. On the other hand, if someone is very easily offended, you should recognize that this is a flaw that you need to work on. It is important that you do so, for your own peace of mind and for the good of others.

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