Good morning,
Really? That’s not fair!
Although King David had been anointed as king of the people of Israel, and had become famous for killing the giant Goliath, and had become the then ruling king’s son-in-law, he had a long hard time to wait until he was able to sit on the throne that God had promised him. For years he was treated as an outlaw. In Psalm 35 he poured out his heart to God for what was going on. At one point he wrote, Don't let those who hate me without cause gloat over my sorrow.(v.19) In poetic terms he wrote what we would say today, This isn’t fair. They don't talk of peace; they plot against innocent people who are minding their own business. They shout that they have seen me doing wrong. “Aha,” they say. “Aha! With our own eyes we saw him do it!”(vs.20,21) Many centuries later Jesus, who was known as Jesus, son of David, used that same phrase ‘They hated me without cause.’ while talking to his disciples about what they would face after he would die and live again after he was crucified.(Jn
15:25) But Jesus wasn’t saying, That’s not fair. He started out by saying, “When the world hates you, remember it hated me before it hated you.(Jn.15:18) Jesus was making it clear to his followers that glory would have to wait. He then explained, The world would love you if you belonged to it, but you don't. I chose you to come out of the world, and so it hates you.(v.19) Jesus was making the point that God’s genuine children would be chosen by God and that would result in genuine resistance. He then explained,The people of the world will hate you because you belong to me, for they don't know God who sent me.(v.21) Years later the Apostle Paul explained,Our lives are a fragrance presented by Christ to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those being saved and by those perishing.(2Cor.2:15) The people of our world who are followers of Satan are aware at some level of the fact that God’s family aren’t like them. To those who are perishing we are a fearful smell of death and doom.(v.16) However, this does not mean that we are accusers. Jesus explained, They would not be guilty if I had not come and spoken to them. But now they have no excuse for their sin.(Jn.15:22) The Bible tells the story of God’s power and love, and also the guidelines that God has laid down for those who would trust and follow him. Worldly people hate God the Father and Jesus the Savior as written in the Bible. Ungodly people feel that the God of the Bible has no right to tell them what is right and wrong. To them,That’s not fair!
To get back to Paul’s point, he also tells us, But to those who are being saved we are a life-giving perfume.(v.16) So why then does our Savior allow those of us who follow him to go through the battles and hatred that he had to go through when he came to save us? God proved his love for us when he sent his only Son, Jesus, to live with us and die for us as the full payment for our sins. One of the responsibilities of a genuine child of God is to demonstrate God’s love and forgiveness, kindness and concern, prayer and patience, as Jesus did in the face of hatred and pain and even personal death. The group Christian Freedom International tell us that now there are at least 245 million Christians who are living in places of extreme persecution. They risk being attacked, imprisoned, and even killed for being a Christian. Paul wrote, And who is adequate for such a task as this?(v.16) John gives us the answer, Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.(1John.4:4) Now That’s Wonderfully True.
John 15:18 “When the world hates you, remember it hated me before it hated you.
Roy Wisner
