“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.”
John 15:18
Jesus was straightforward with his disciples when He spoke about the type of life they would face once they declared they were His followers. He spoke about heavenly rewards that will be given to God’s children. At the same time, He did not avoid talking about what they would face once they decided to follow Him. The Gospel of John records Jesus saying the world will HATE His followers. The Greek word used implies being detested to the point of persecution. Knowing this, we must ensure that we do not hate the world.
It is difficult to comprehend how spreading the Gospel can lead to hatred. We know Jesus spoke often of God’s love for His children. He also mentioned several times that we must love our neighbour as we love ourselves. So, where does the hate come from? Jesus’ teachings go against human instincts, against killing, abusing, making a profit, and so on. He spoke against the things that drive this world today.
God has stated that He is against sin, against anything that is offensive or causes harm to ourselves, to other humans and God. We must speak the truth, but the fear of offending someone may interfere with our relationship with God. We can worry about “political correctness” to the point that we can stop sharing the truth. We point people to Jesus and scripture because the Holy Spirit prepares them. We can be offended by sin; as the expression goes, we can hate the sin, but we must not hate the sinner. We must trust the Holy Spirit to help the unsaved see sin as offensive. All the while, we love them with our words and lifestyle.
Pray that you can be an example to others by asking the Holy Spirit to help you look past the sin so you can focus on loving the sinner. Pray for strength to live in the world and ask God to protect you from the pressure to compromise your beliefs. Pray and ask God to use you to share His love.