-Strength for Today- "People Will Hate You Without a Cause." - John 15:22-27.
The word “cause,” can lead to a demented implication by which deep down in one’s soul, there’s a “bias” against a:
- Person,
- Place or
- Thing,
And if acted upon, can develop into a “phenomenal setback.” In life, things do happen due to “one’s free choice” but never without a “cause.” And until you understand that you have an enemy who works tirelessly to turn you back to your sinful nature, you’ll never become a successful follower of Jesus Christ.
Jesus was hated and went to the cross not because of sins He committed. He went to the cross because of sins we committed. He suffered unjustly at the hands of hateful men, so that we could be forgiven and delivered from the:
- Enslaving powers of sin,
- Death, and
- The devil.
But even here, Jesus’ unjust hatred and persecution was never outside of God’s control. He orchestrated everything, so that sinners like you and me can obtain eternal life through Jesus’ sacrificial death – John 3:16.
The same can be said when those, who’re blinded by the hostility of Satan hates us, because our cause is linked to Jesus Christ, and not the world- John 15:25. In this life, as believers, we’re going to be hated, but not for the “fa?ade” that Satan parades, such as:
- Pride and
- Racism.
All hatred on this earth is orchestrated; and is part of God’s divine plan to bring the world, by faith to Jesus Christ.
Even Paul pulls from the Psalms to speak to our own persecution and hatred, “For Thy sake we are being killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for slaughter” - Romans 8:36. That’s what the path of obedience inevitably means in a world that hates Jesus: sheep to be slaughtered. That’s what we signed up for when we gave Jesus our lives!
Author: Plez Lovelady, Jr., PhD