Passage Read: Luke 21-22
Meditation Verses: 21:17-19
Thought
"All men will hate you because of Me." Jesus couldn't be more clear. Yet I have grown up in a world that has tolerated Christians and even honored them. Only of late has there been some open hostility. But I am taught to be careful and kind to everyone I meet, so as not to give offense. 1 Peter 3:15-16: Be gentle and respectful in responding to those who want to know my hope. But what about those who do not want to repent of sin? What about those who walk in rebellion and have no thought to repent? Jesus says that not a hair of my head will perish, but follows that with "by standing firm you will gain your life." Things are not to go smoothly for the true believer! Things are supposed to get rough. If I speak for Jesus, if I plead with people to repent, if I stand up for God's truth, then people will not like me! My goal in life is not to be liked by men, but to warn them and call them to repent! Many will not like that, so that Jesus characterizes what my life should be as "all men will hate you because of Me." They're not going to be envious at my prosperity and joy and easy life. They're going to hate me because I walk in Jesus' ways and warn others to flee this evil generation. And sadly, the ones who hate me most will be those who think they belong to the truth. Pilate didn't care what Jesus claimed; it was the religious leaders who demanded Jesus' death!
Application
This doesn't mean I have license to be nasty to people, but it does mean that I must not be doing something right if a whole lot of people don't like me. I must not be speaking enough about Jesus and God or accurately about Jesus and God. I must not be making His Word the highest priority in my life. I'm still caring too much about fitting in and getting what I can from this life and this world. I'm compromising. I'm staying safe. I'm afraid of what "standing firm" means I'll have to face, so I don't want to push too hard or too far. I need to break out and break free. I need to stop listening to what Christians--and the world!--tell me I'm supposed to be like and start living like Jesus wants me to live and teaching like His disciples taught. All men should hate me because I follow Jesus. If that's not happening, I'm doing some thing wrong.