“THE WORLD HATES YOU!”

John 15:18-25                                                             (ESV)

“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.

23 Whoever hates ME hates MY FATHER also.

24 If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both ME and MY FATHER.

25 But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: 'They hated me without a cause.'”

HATE is a word that I have always been advised to avoid.  After all, GOD IS LOVE (1 John 4:8) and we are to reflect GOD in everything we do.  But GOD also HATES!  Proverbs 6:16-19 says “There are six things that the LORD HATES, seven that are an abomination to HIM: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers”.  Likewise, we should HATE to break the heart of GOD!

The word HATE is defined as “to dislike intensely or passionately; feel extreme aversion for or extreme hostility toward; detest:”.  We should have an extreme aversion to doing things that are an offense to our CREATOR, the ONE WHO has CHOSEN us!  The reason “THE WORLD HATES YOU” is because ALMIGHTY GOD has CHOSEN US to be different than them, to be SET APART from them.  They HATED HIM when HE explained that doing what THEY WANTED was NOT pleasing to GOD, and “THE WORLD HATES YOU” because we are part of JESUS!  

There is MUCH discussion about Romans 13 and submitting to those in authority.  But in Acts 4:18-21 Peter and John replied to those who instructed them to “not to speak or teach at all in the name of JESUS” by saying "Whether it is right in the sight of GOD to listen to you rather than to GOD, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard."  

Serving GOD IS SURE to cost us more than our tithes and offerings.  When “THE WORLD HATES YOU”, it cannot SEE that you are simply being obedient to a HOLY GOD, for the veil over their EYES has not been removed.  It might be that GOD will use my persecution to open the EYES of someone who HE will use to suffer for HIS NAME?  

GREAT GOD IN HEAVEN, cause me to be so focused on following YOU that I will obey, even when “THE WORLD HATES ME”, especially because I am following YOU!