Jesus Was Hated & Disrespected for His Beliefs, As We Are Today
Word-Of-The-Day: ‘(18) <Jesus said to His disciples,> “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated Me first. (19) If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. (20) Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed My teaching, they will obey yours also.”’ (John 15:18-20)
Why would people turn against the Christian? We seem to be meek, and we try to help folks and on the outside of the Church minimally interfere, with the occasional inquiries about having Faith, or asking if prayer is needed. The Faithful Christian, though, is one who – while perhaps not always browbeating in condemning the sins of those outside of the church – makes it aware that those actions are not of God and thus not of His approval.
Jesus ran into these same issues, with the very people who were supposed to represent God, the Pharisees and the High Priests. He healed and fed people, and taught people to understand God’s Word, loving upon them and treating others with great kindness and respect. Nevertheless, He represented to those who did not believe in Him a threat against the power they perceived they had. This is what we are facing today; the secular world finds the Christian as opposition; the Christian ethic of following God’s precepts goes against the mantra of ‘do what feels good to you’.
It’s not a question of ‘if’, but ‘when’ persecution comes to us. It has come to many around the world, including Canada and even in the US (in mostly ‘blue’ states – so far). We are seeing the cards stacked against us, but never lose Hope! We have God on our side, and we will persevere and win. It is part of His plan; He said so in Revelation! We may go some pain that we will need to endure, however. We do this by staying in God’s Word, standing firmly on God’s Word, and defending God’s Word against those who disagree – with respect but with firmness.
