Contempt of the World
February 23, 2015
Kent Oviatt, Associate Pastor | Deaf & Multicultural
Ministry
Last week, we read Christ's words expressing his desire for
us to understand and experience his love, and to demonstrate that love to one
another. This week, our study abruptly shifts to the subject of hate. Jesus
uses a strong word here of maliciousness and animosity. There are many
"hard sayings" of Christ in the Gospels. This is no exception. Jesus
does not mince words to describe the contempt that the world has for him (the
Savior). Consequently, as followers of Christ, we should expect the world to
hate us being that Jesus was hated immensely. In fact, the conditional language
that Jesus uses here is to be understood as, "the world really does hate
you."
Are we surprised by the attitude of the world? When we stand
for truth, especially when this truth confronts the worlds’ sin, we should
expect nothing less than contempt. In stark contrast to the hate that we
receive from the world do not forget the glorious thought! Jesus said, "I
chose you out of the world." Even if we are hated by the world, we can
love them because Christ first loved us.
TWEET THIS: When
the world hates us, we can find assurance by resting in our salvation.
#UpperRoom
