Daily text, Friday, December 1. 2017

[Queen Esther]

Close friendship with Jehovah belongs to those who fear him.—Ps. 25:14.

Three times the Bible identifies Abraham as God’s friend. (2 Chron. 20:7; Isa. 41:8; Jas. 2:23) In fact, that faithful man is the only person specifically referred to that way in the Bible. Should we assume, then, that Abraham was the only human ever to become Jehovah’s friend? No, for the Bible shows that friendship with God is something that each of us can attain. God’s Word teems with accounts of faithful men and women who feared Jehovah, put faith in him, and became his close friends. The apostle Paul wrote of “a great cloud of witnesses,” all of whom surely were God’s friends. (Heb. 12:1) Among them we find a delightful variety of people. They have enjoyed the wonderful privilege of being friends of God. May we continue to imitate such examples of faith. (Heb. 6:11, 12) As we do so, we may be assured of a great reward—being Jehovah’s close friends forever! w16.02 2:1, 2, 19

https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/dt/r1/lp-e/2017/12/1