By Lisa Wilmore
Scripture Reading: “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you:…‘They hated me without a cause’ (John 15:18-26 ESV).
My Dear Friends,
Praise God for this day! It is a blessing to be able to be a part of something great in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ-that is to bask in his everlasting, eternal, and endless compassion, kindness, and forgiveness toward us. Thank God for this day, His daily bread, and all the things He has provided for us. Thank Him for our “ups” as well as our “downs”. Truly, if we believe the Word of God, then we understand and accept the report that “All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28 KJV).
Amazingly, God, through His Holy Word will lead you in the “path of righteousness”. It has been bestowed upon me to realize that being chosen simply means that hatred is prevalent. Interestingly, hatred does not come because of anything that you have done, but because of who chose you. Hatred shows its hideous head in our lives because Jesus chose us out of the world.
In the aforementioned Text, Jesus addressed the disciples, those He chose to be followers as He led the way here on earth. He emphasized that they would be hated but it was not because of anything that they would do, but it was because the world does not know who sent Him. These disciples were persecuted and died as Martyrs in Jesus’ name except for John.
Absent of knowing Jesus, and the Father who sent Him, the world is confused in how a believer can love the unlovable; give bread instead of a stone; give blessings instead of curses. The world hate believers because they do not understand our God and what He did for us. News flash: “The world hates you without a cause.” However, they hated Jesus first. But He still loved them no matter what they did to him.
As Jesus warns us about the world’s hatred, let us not reveal the same animosity toward them. He reminds us to love not to hate. In Luke 6:27-28, we are to love our enemies, do good to them who hate us, bless them who curse us, and pray for them who mistreat us. (NASB).
