March 22
JOHN 15
18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. 21 But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. – John 15:18-22
JOHN 15 IF THE WORLD HATES YOU
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
If you are ridiculed and ostracized by those unbelievers
Do not fret for you are not alone in your struggle
Jesus himself was hated by those who don’t know him
Rejoice that you have been chosen by him to be free from sin.
Once again, we witness Jesus’ love for his disciples by preparing them for what is going to happen when he is no longer with them. He warned them that they will be hated by the world. In the bible, the world represents the kingdom of Satan. This kingdom does not acknowledge Jesus as their king, but they bow down to their evil king, Satan. The kingdom of God is about selflessness while the kingdom of the world is about selfishness. They are two opposing kingdoms. In this account, Jesus prepares them to expect that those who belong to Satan’s kingdom will definitely hate them. Because their concept of life is very different from God’s ways, they will loathe anyone who dares to be different from what the norm is. While Jesus was on earth, he was hated by the Jewish leaders because he was a threat to their “law-based” rules which were very different from what they know.
So, if you are a believer and encounter people loathing or hating you, be joyful. God has chosen you to belong to his righteous kingdom and not to the evil kingdom of Satan. As a believer, shouldn’t we expect hatred from this world because they do not know the way of true love since they do not know God?
REFLECTION
• Why do some Christians struggle with hatred from the world?
