"If the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you. 19. If you were of the world, the world would love his own, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”
Being a Christian is not a popularity contest. Jesus promised that the world would hate us because of Him. (Hey, I didn’t say it; Jesus said it.) The “world” is the world system under the control of Satan. So don’t be surprised if the world does not “rise up and call you blessed” – so to speak. First, because of this, we need to live the Christian life in order for the world to respect, but if not love us. Many in the world just do not believe in Jesus, and think that we are ignorant because we do believe in Him. Many are just not sure whether Jesus exists or not, so He does not matter, and we just get in their way, or irritate them because of our commitment to Jesus. Many do not want to believe in Jesus because He would get in the way of what they want to do. Again, we just get in their way. If we truly live for Jesus, the world will hate us. If you do not believe it, just shout “Jesus” in a crowded room of strangers and see how they react. Second, this does not mean that we can hate the world. Jesus loved the world enough to die for it, and we should love the people in the world, not the world system, because Jesus told us to love people. In John 15:17, Jesus said, “These things I command you, that you love one another.” He did not mean for us just to love our fellow Christians, but to love those who hate what we stand for. In fact, in 1 John 4:8, John reminds us: “He that loves not does not know God: for God is love.” John added in 4:20: “If a man say, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar: for he that loves not his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen.” Third, we have to live in the tension of a world that hates us, and at the same time witness to that world. We have to love people enough to set the example of the love and care of Jesus in order for them to see Jesus in us. This does not mean that we surrender to the demands of the world. We will have to take a stand for Jesus at some point in our Christian pilgrimage, but we should do it out of love, not out of hatred. We can hate the ways of the world, but we must, must, love the people of the world. Jesus died for them too. We just need to let Jesus love them through us. I cannot tell you how to do it. And, frankly, it’s not easy, but the Spirit of God can teach us to love. Pray about it!!!! Bro. Joe
1 Comment
Arnold Carden
2/20/2017 10:04:44 pm
Great message and a reminder of our challenges as Christians.
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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