Loving the Hateful!
Verse for Today: Thursday, July 11, 2013
John 15:18 - If the world hates you, you know
that it has hated Me before it has hated you.
Our world is filled with hatred
and hate crimes. People hate each other based on wrong perceptions, misunderstandings,
cultural angularities, religious fanaticism, political undercurrents, geographical
and ethnic partisanship, ideological intricacies, jealousy and competition. But
all of these come from their sinful self. God’s children fall a prey to bitter
hatred because the enemy implants hatred in the hearts of people because of the
truth that they stand for. If we do not recognize the root cause of such
hatred, we might plunge ourselves into distress. The Lord Jesus Christ wants us
to understand why there is hatred in this world and to fight it spiritually. We
are hated because of our faith and the spiritual stand we take for Him. But if hatred
comes because of our own faults, we must confess it to God and ask Him in
prayer to make us more and more like Jesus. We ought to be hated only because
of our relentless stand for His teachings and life style which are contrary to that
of the world. In a selfish world, God wants us to live unselfishly for others
so that God’s righteousness and truth will be accomplished in their lives. Jesus
wants us to give ourselves for others and always seek their good. He
has given us all things for us to expend for the spiritual well-being of those
who do not know God personally. He has given us time, talents, training and
treasures which can be used for the world to know the love of God. In spite of
giving ourselves to others, they might hate us and that is when we ought to rejoice
and be exceedingly glad. Let our query be, “What can we give to this world for
Jesus’ sake?” Let us seek others’ spiritual welfare rather than be self-seeking
and self-promoting. Let us preach and practice a way of life that is quite
contrary to the selfish philosophy promoted by Satan and the world
system. When we follow such a revolutionary philosophy which is against the
world's standards, either they will join us or find us an inconvenience and
nuisance.
Dear friend, you must understand
and accept the fact that you are in this world today to show God’s love to the people
of this world who hate you because of your faith in Jesus. Let us recount all
the blessings that are given to us to invest for this world to see and
experience Jesus somehow. People hate us because of the enemy of our souls, but
let us love them in return rather than retaliating or taking revenge. Let us
joyfully suffer persecution, weather emotional, physical or social and use it
all as opportunities to touch the lives of those who hate us for Jesus’ sake. He
expects His disciples to live in this world and stand strong in His power to
prove that we seek the salvation of their souls and not false victories in our
battles with them. When the world hates, intimidates and rejects us, it is our
opportunity to show Jesus’ love to them. When you and I experience the
consequences of hateful atrocities committed
against us, our response should be one of love in return. Remember,
when we sustain hatred and rejection for
the sake of the Lord and His Word, we are a fortunate and privileged
people. We stand as a testimony for Jesus in this selfish
world amidst its crooked ways. We might be suffering pain and misery
because of hate crimes, but the grace of God demonstrated on the cross of
Calvary will be showered upon us to endure such persecution with
contentment. Let us go forward to suffer for the Lord in this world and
thus respond to the persecution He endured for us on the cross.
Luke 6:27 – Love your enemies,
do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who
ill-treat you.
Thought for Today
Love is the panacea to turn
hatred into heavenly joy.
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