Jump Start # 3801
John 15:18 “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you.”
In our sixteen word verse today, the word “hate” is used three times. The world hates. The world hates Christians. The world hates Jesus. The world can be mean, dangerous and very wicked. There is a lot of anger in our times. People who do not know each other, become angry and say cruel things because of how the other person perceives them.
Because the world hates, there are three common reactions some have to deal with this.
First, some want to find a middle ground to compromise upon. I’ll move toward you and you move towards me, and maybe that will be enough so that hate will no longer fill the air. On paper, that sounds like a reasonable suggestion. It may work between nations that are at war with each other. But, when it comes to faith, the Bible and Christ, the world won’t move. The world expects us to move. The world is interested in making wrong seem right. The world continues to move further away from the Lord.
Modern churches find themselves chasing after the world, begging them to slow down so they can catch up. Embracing things that are obviously wrong in the Bible, moderns compromise and redefine words and close their eyes, just to find an audience and keep the money coming in.
Second, another approach is to isolate ourselves from the world. The monastery approach where we have very little to do with the world is the only solution some see. The Pharisees tried that. The Amish still do that. We become an isolated island and our good works and light is only visible among each other. While there are days and times when the world really bothers us and we feel like moving away from it all, that is not the solution that the Lord wants.
Third, a third approach to a hateful world is to fight back. Tangling in verbal arguments on social media may appease our conscience, it does little good to get in the mud with someone who has no understanding, concept or desire to follow the Lord. Hateful words, offensive language and insults commonly fill such discussions. It will raise your blood pressure as the opponent, caring nothing about decency or rules, does all he can to make you look like a fool and a buffoon.
The world hates. It hates because it has made up its mind without even giving Jesus a fair chance. It hates because it doesn’t want to change nor be responsible to anyone else.
What then can we do?
First, the Romans were told to overcome evil with good. Don’t do what the haters do. Rise above that. The Lord wants you to pray for your enemies. You may not convince the other person. You may not get the last word in with the other person. But, it will be known by Heaven, that you treated the other person kindly, fairly and tried to do good to them.
This is hard when the other person hates you. This is hard when the other person is insulting and saying unkind and untrue things about you. The default mode is to go on the defensive. Counter attack. Launch more aggressive missiles at the person. Attack their character. Ridicule what they believe. Insult them. While that may make us feel good for a moment, it deepens the chasm between us and it certainly doesn’t fit the description of “doing good towards evil.”
Second, realize you are not the first to be hated for what you believe. The reason for fiery furnaces, lion’s dens, chains in prisons, and a cross at Calvary are because someone was hated for what they stood for. That’s the direction of our passage today. You are hated because Jesus was hated. They hated Jesus before they hated you.
And, since this is a repeated story throughout the Bible, we look to those heroes of faith for examples and help in our lives. You don’t find Shadrach, Daniel, or Peter, shouting unkind things to their persecutors. You don’t find them making threats. You don’t see them begging for second chances or changing their minds about what they believed. You can’t do what the enemy does. You can’t sell your soul to save your life.
Third, God is aware of what you endure. No one may fully understand how those insulting words crush and hurt you. Cruel words spoken by your very family. Mean things said by those you work with. People you considered friends, who now insult and say untrue things about you. And, why? Because you walk with Jesus. God knows. And, your faith, example and conviction is also seen by those who watch. There are silent voices that wish they could be as brave as you are. There are those who know that they would crumble under such pressure and join the enemy because they couldn’t take the abuse. But, in you, you of all people, they see a hero. A living Daniel among them. A faith like Moses. A heart like Peter. And, though they will not rise up and defend you or support you, they are too afraid to do that, they admire you.
Heaven sees what you endure. Heaven knows how hard it is for you. And, the promises of God keep you going. Someday all of this will end. One day we will be home with the Lord.
The world hates. The world hates Jesus. The world hates you. But, with the hope of Scriptures and the help of our fellowship, we will overcome. In Revelation, a dragon, a beast, a false prophet and a drunken prostitute all sought to stamp out the faith of those early brethren. But all of them, from the prostitute to the dragon, were sent away in punishment for what they did. Those that endured and overcame gathered around God’s glorious throne in Heaven.
There is a lot of hate going around. But there is a lot of love in us to share and spread.
Roger