May 2022

Hate/Love/Jesus

Earlier, I jotted down a few notes on a piece of paper. Fifteen minutes later, I continue to stare at my computer. I can see from my window that the sky is gray and that the rain as Winnie the Pooh would say, “came down, down, down.” I guess I have a lot going on in my mind, but don’t we all. Within the gloomy first sentences, I just laughed to these words, “I hate when I see an old person and then realize I went to high school with them.”

Swirling around in my head for some time is this question, “Why do people hate and/or dislike Jesus so much? Buried deeper within that question stirs up another question, “Why do believers expect people who do not believe to act like those who believe? After all, as believers we still struggle with sin and the sinful nature roars. Without the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit, any movement away from sin is solely based on one’s own will and determination. Prior to Jesus, how did that work out for you?

I do think that a segment of Christianity, for the sake of a term, have brought on some of this hate or disdain. Screaming at people, distancing from people, and/or holding banners in people’s faces is anything but Jesus, right? In the book of Acts, we see Peter and Paul preach bold messages of the good news that Jesus was the Messiah, and that the forgiveness of sins came through repentance. When people said no thanks, Paul (Acts 18) though frustrated, moved on. Sure, his heart was grieved but he moved on to others who may be more receptive. Paul’s life was filled with insults, persecution, and rejection. However, it was not Paul who was hated but it was the holy God who was rejected, and as the Scriptures say, hated. It is true that the gospel is offensive for it holds up a mirror into our very own lives. With that said, let me re-emphasize, the gospel is offensive, but believers do not have to be.

Jesus says, “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world.” (Jesus-John 16:18-19) This verse reminds me of the times I have felt alone, misunderstood, and ridiculed. When my relationship in Christ does not align with how others see things and/or act, I have been gossiped about and felt out of place. At those times, Jesus reminds me of His example of living in grace and truth.

Throughout the New Testament, it was the Religious that drove Jesus bonkers. They hated Jesus. Jesus exposed their hypocrisy. They knew as people encountered Jesus; it was only a matter of time before they would lose the power grab they had on the people. The religious were never satisfied. In Luke 7 we read, “For John the Baptist didn’t spend his time eating bread and drinking wine, and you say, He’s demon possessed. The Son of Man, on the other hand, feasts and drinks, and you say, He’s a glutton and a drunkard, and a friend of tax collectors (big sinners) and other sinners! Moments later Jesus allows a “big” sinner to touch him at a dinner gathering. The Religious minds were screaming that if he really was a prophet, he would run from her. But Jesus moves towards her. I love this about Jesus.

In Scripture, the trigger word hate is a defining term when God’s ways and the world’s ways do not align. This response happened then and continues today. However, God has called the believer, who is changed by the power of the Holy Spirit, to love others despite the “hate” non-believers may have for Jesus and the lifestyle he calls followers to live. Believers are not to be of the world, but that does not dismiss us from relationships.

Lately, I have been talking about the theme, “Remember your salvation”. Matthew, the tax collector, gets right with God and starts following Jesus. One night, he invites Jesus to dinner along with all his friends who did not know Jesus. Some of these friends had quite a reputation as sinners in the community. Once again, the Religious cried foul! In the New Living Translation it says, “Why does your teacher eat with such scum.”?

I want to show the picture of a sad emoji on the last sentence, but I think my computer is unable. At times in my life, I have “distanced” myself from people who are not like me, and/or do not act like me. This hypocrisy started in my heart, when all along Jesus calls me into relationship.

In Jesus,

Pastor Rich