Love and Hate

by Martha Kinney
10/11/17
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Why are we surprised that once we choose Christ things change in our relationships? We are new creations in Christ and so we change. [2 Corinthians 5:17New International Version (NIV) ¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here] Without saying a word others soon see that we are different.

            Some will be happy to see the change. We are kinder, and ourbehavior is even better. But others will not like what they see. Christ was very open about the fact that we will have friends and acquaintances that will turn on us. He also told us how we should behave when this happens. In fact He put that commandment in front of His warning. John 15:17 (NIV) This is my command: Love each other  Love is one thing we see so little of in this world today. Do you think that if we were more loving we could make a greater impact on the atmosphere around us?

            We love to quote John 3:16 but we seem to miss the phrase, 'For God so loved the world.' As Christians we should also have that same attitude towards all in the world. I was shocked when I asked one of my Christian friends if they were praying for the terrorists. These are people who are willing to die for what they believe. They go into eternity totally unprepared. Forever condemned. Why would we not pray for them since God loves them as much as He loves us?

            Terrorists are willing to die for what they believe but we hesitate to live for what we believe. To live our faith means we learn how to love as God loves. Love does not condone bad behavior nor ignore evil. But we have difficulty separating people from sin. Sin is behavior. Sometimes it is just our innate human nature. Little people have to be taught how to make good choices. We learn to tell them we love them but their behavior is unacceptable. Why can't we learn to do the same for adults? Of course as an adult we make independent choices and so we can decide to choose good or evil.

            Just because we show God's love to all we cannot expect others to reciprocate. Jesus warned us that this has been the reaction throughout history. Paul reminds the early church of this historical reaction to God and His people.

1 Thessalonians 2:14-15New American Standard Bible (NASB) ¹⁴ For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, for you also endured the same sufferings at the hands of your own countrymen, even as they did from the Jews, ¹⁵ who both killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out. They are not pleasing to God, but hostile ...

            This is just a reminder of what Jesus said when He spoke to His disciples on what they would face going forward.

 John 15:17-27New International Version (NIV)¹⁷ This is my command: Love each other. ¹⁸ “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. ²¹ They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me.

            It isn't that Jesus didn't warn us of what would happen if we chose to become part of His family. Becoming a Christian means changing our citizenship. We no longer belong to the world but belong to our Father and the home He is preparing for us in heaven.

            Jesus never totally fit in to His society when He walked the earth, so why do we expect to? People either loved or hated Him. For us, many just ignore us or feel ambiguous towards us. However we will run into some who will definitely hate us. That is when we need to make sure we respond as Jesus did.

            I have learned that living up to that level of love requires the power of the Holy Spirit working in and through us. That is why we need to keep our relationship with Him up to date. To read God's Word and discuss all our feelings and thoughts with Him in prayer. If our prayer life is only a list of what we want or want for others then we are cheating ourselves of the benefit of having the Holy Spirit at work in us. He is the One who can help us mold our thinking and actions into those that display God's love to the world.

            We cannot choose if people will love us or hate us but we can choose how we respond to their behavior. We need to remember that when we chose Christ we chose to be like Him. With that choice came the reality that we would face love and hate as we travel through this life.