Meditate. Love or Hate?
If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it
hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because
you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the
world hates you. John
15:18-19
Hate
is a horrible emotion—draining life and love from a person’s heart and soul.
“Hate” is actually found 93 times in the NASB version of the Bible, as compared
with 348 times that “love” is listed. Obviously, God wants us to focus on
“love” more than hate…which is logical since God is Love (1 John 4:8).
The fear of the LORD is to hate
evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverted mouth, I
hate. Proverbs
8:13.
Evil
is what we are to hate. Let’s not forget the teaching in Ecclesiastes
concerning that there is a time for everything under the sun. A time to
love and a time to hate; A time for war and a time for peace. Ecclesiastes
3:8. Jesus is telling His disciples in this passage in John 15 that the world
hates His followers. But Jesus taught earlier in His Sermon on the Mount that
we should love our enemies, or those who hate us.
You have heard that it was said,
'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your
enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your
Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the
good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love
those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do
the same? "If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than
others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Therefore you are to be perfect,
as your heavenly Father is perfect. Matthew 5:43-48.
Purity. Perfection.
Created by God.
That
is a big order to fill…be perfect. Only with God’s help could we ever attain
perfection. I think we’ll be in heaven then. Jesus is instructing us that
we will be hated because we love Him. Can you endure hatred to be loved by God?
Are you chosen to love or hate?
Prayer ~ Jesus, just as You loved the unlovable and those who
hated You, give me the courage to show love for those who may ridicule or hate
Christians, Christianity, and even You, Christ, my Lord and Redeemer. My all
who walk beside me and after me find me faithful to You, enduring the hatred of
the world. Thank you for choosing me to love You.
Verse of Salvation ~ He saved us from our enemies. His faithful
love endures forever. Psalm 136:24
© 2021 Text, photos and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All
rights reserved.
All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless
otherwise noted.
New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale
House Foundation.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream,
Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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