John 15:19 (NIV)
The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984
Of constant interest to me is the charge that we are to live in the world yet not be about the world. By that I mean that we are not to chase after things of the flesh and we are to cast aside all the carnal desires that are so important to people who are about the world. As Christians, we are to love not just one another but everyone no matter their faith or lack of faith. We are to forgive ourselves, our brothers and sisters as well as our neighbors; basically everyone. We are to be salt in light in the world that those who do not yet know Jesus are encouraged to come taste of him and to come bask in the light of His glory. We are, at every opportunity, to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with everyone that crosses our path.
If we live up to our charge, if by the power of Holy Spirit we are successful in doing all these things, we can expect to be hated by the very people that we serve. This is not for any wrongs we have committed against those we serve but rather because of the 'rights' we have committed in their sight. By living joyful and exemplary lives in front of them while at the same time eschewing their entire value system, we reveal them for what they are; lost, hopeless, frustrated, disappointed, shallow people. For our ability to love them we shall be hated.
This ability to love is a divine blessing and an inheritance that accompanied our adoption into the family of God. And that adoption is the proof that we have been chosen by Jesus to be called his own. So our service to others in love and forgiveness marks us as Christians and invites those who bow at the altar of idols to hate us.
If then the proof of who owns us is measured by whether we are hated by the world I must ask you "Are you hated?" Do you recoil at the very thought that someone might hate you? Is that because you spend your time and energy trying to convince everyone that you are lovable? When you sense that someone hates you does your mind immediately go to "what have I done?" Consider the very real possibility that you have done nothing, what is hated in you is what Christ has done.
It seems counter-intuitive that if we love so fully and forgive so completely, if we are so clearly associated with Jesus Christ as to be unmistakably His disciples, then we will be hated. Yet, there it is in John 15:19.
So I leave you now with this charge... love so much, forgive so much, sacrifice so much that you are hated.
In His Grip,
Carl
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2 comments:
Carl Charge: "I leave you now with this charge... love so much, forgive so much, sacrifice so much that you are hated."
Yeah, this Christianity business is foolish, isn't it? Well, at least it's foolishness to those who love the world and all that is in the world. But you're right, Carl, following the truth dictated by 1st John 2: 15-16, we are to love only as Christ loved and hate what He hated (i.e., sin).
As I said in my journal for today, God's word [2nd Cor. 13: 5] says that it's a healthy thing to do an inventory of our Spiritual health; and your inventory charge will lead most of us - at least - to conviction; and prayerfully to God's direction. ... <'BB><
Missing our blogs of late! <'BB><
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