Don’t be surprised, my
brothers, if the world hates you. –
1 John 3:13
It has been the way of the world from the beginning. Cain was jealous of Abel, his jealousy turned
to hatred, and his hatred turned violent.
The tradition has been carried on by Joseph’s brothers, Pharaoh’s
soldiers, Jews and Romans who hated the incarnate God and His followers, and on
and on. People are killed simply for
claiming Jesus. And we should not be
surprised at all.
Why this enmity? Go
back to the Garden of Eden. The serpent
and the seed of God’s children have been at odds since day one. There is a cosmic warfare raging, and we are
in the middle of it.
Now that the Messiah has defeated death and raised us to
unspeakable heights, the enemy’s sense of vengeance runs deeper than ever. We were born into that environment (Ephesians
2:1-3), but we have been delivered. And
there is no halfway house. We chose
sides. That did not go unnoticed in the
shadows of this world.
But it is a strange phenomenon that the world doesn’t
believe it is at enmity with God.
Scripture is emphatic about its hatred (James 4:4, for example), but our
culture thinks that tolerance for the possibility of a Creator is the same as
friendship with Him.
The truth of its hatred comes out when His Lordship is
asserted. We think God’s people are at
peace with an unbelieving society until righteousness is preached. Then things get ugly, and we are surprised.
Don’t be. The
illusion needs to be abandoned that we can be friends with the world and
friends with God simultaneously. That is
a fantasy that is never supported in Scripture.
We can have a decent reputation, we can serve humbly and admirably in
our society, and we can earn the respect of many. But it is a superficial respect.
A mere mention of Jesus could forfeit all the acceptance we
think we have earned. We never should
give the world’s esteem much effort, and cling to the surpassing worth of the
Lord we have chosen. Ultimately, only
His opinion matters.
With love,
A long-time Oasis member
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