"Only one life, 'twill soon be past
Only what's done for Christ will last."

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Haters Gonna Hate

Jesus said that they hated him, therefore they will hate you.

Who are they?

Let me help define "they" for a Bible-believer: anyone who falls short of righteousness, anyone justifying oneself in God's eyes, anyone, really.

When we finally realize that we are justified by faith---saved by grace---and we all fall short of the mark of God's righteousness, then we stop judging others, we stop setting up our own ideals (and idolatry) of what is right and what is wrong, we hone to God's standards, and we let HIM be the judge.

And people hate that. God's standards are so incredibly high, unattainable on our own power, that we shake our fists in hatred at Him until we realize Christ's sacrifice for us.

Hatred is the normal human response for falling short. Think of it. We hate the one that judges us. We hate the one that has more, or is more. We hate the one that is different. We hate the one that hurts us, ignores us, mistakes us, wrongs us.

And hatred is a powerful thing.

When I was quite small I was told that if you hated something you wished it was in hell. My healthy respect for hell was enough to cause me to use caution with my words. The vernacular "I hate that" was carefully used.

Hate is something I like to reserve for the devil. When I was a child he seemed to keep pretty quiet to me, a silent presence in everyone's life.

He's surfacing more regularly lately. Television, sports events, movies---you can see him. Devil worship is growing, and so is hatred.

Yesterday there was a story about hatred in the news. Baronelle Stutzmann from Washington, a florist who refused to do flowers for a wedding that her faith convictions prevented, is going to lose everything. Her business, her home, everything. She was tried and convicted in court for discrimination.

Only hatred from the judge could have brought this about. Hatred for God. Hatred for the Word of God. I mean, Losing EVERYTHING??? For a thought, a conviction, a belief???????

They hate me, they will hate you, said Jesus. Yup.

Another case of incredible hatred comes from Florida. Kent Hovind, the popular creationist, was tried and convicted of tax fraud. He was sentenced to the maximum prison time allowed for that. He appealed, and his case is to be heard by the same judge. She is looking to give him life in prison this time. Her hatred is so keen.

Thankfully Kent is using his time in prison to the glory of God. Hatred loses in the end.

I have friends who do not share my beliefs. I have a hard time believing that they want to "take me to the cleaners" because I harbor those beliefs. But hatred does strange things.

They will hate you.

Hatred is blinding. It is a cancer of the heart. It sees self-righteously. It blocks love and mercy anywhere it manifests.

So be wary of it. Expect it. Stand in the safest place to face it.

That would be squarely in faith in Jesus Christ. He is the strength, power, and love needed to deal with hate. And He won't fail you.

Grandma Florist... 

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