Love and Hate

Jesus said to them, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil. You go up to the feast. I am not going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come." After saying this, he remained in Galilee. - John 7:6-9

What did Jesus mean when he told his brothers, "the world cannot hate you"? The world cannot hate them because they did not yet believe in Jesus, and thus they belong to the world. Jesus' message demands one of two responses: acceptance or denial. Accepting the good news means acknowledging sin and a need for a savior, and rejection ultimately leads to hatred. Those who cannot accept his message reject not only him but also his followers. Therefore, as followers of Christ, the church is often misunderstood and ostracized by the world. Jesus later says in John 15,

"If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 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." - John 15:18-19

Dear Church, let us stand firm in God's truth and continue to follow Christ by loving God and our neighbors. As Christ teaches, let us love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44).