Saturday 25th
May, 2019. Read Acts 16:1-10,
Psalm 100 and John 15:18-21
_*“If you
belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. Because you do not
belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world-- therefore the
world hates you.” (John 15:19)*_
In our
Gospel passage yesterday, Jesus calls us his friends on the condition that we
do what he commands which is to love others as he loved us. Today, Jesus is
telling us that the world would hate us just because we do not belong to it. Try
to reconcile this: We are to love others as Jesus loved us, but instead of
loving us, the world would hate and persecute us. This is the dilemma of being
a Christian in our world today.
Dear
friends, if the world hated Christ, the world cannot love those who truly stand
for Christ. The problem with Christians today is that we try to make the world
love us by all means only to jeopardize our relationship with Christ in the
process. That is why you see ladies dressed half-naked going about sharing
pamphlets in the name of doing evangelism. Even churches employ such to welcome
people as a marketing strategy. The truth is that we cannot serve two masters.
We are either Christian or worldly.
On the
other hand, if Christ has already warned us ahead of the world’s hatred, I wonder
why Christians today spend all their time and energy praying against their
enemies (those who hate them). For instance, there is Church just behind the
parish rectory and given the volume of their loudspeakers, I am forced to
listen to their prayers, 90% of which are simply curses against their enemies. It
is sad that instead of speaking blessings on ourselves, we spend all our energy
issuing curses.
Jesus commanded
us to love but today’s Christians are so filled with hatred for enemies both
real and imagined. Jesus taught us to build our treasures in heaven where thieves
and robbers cannot break in and steal but today’s Christians are made to
believe that if they do not have their fill of the world’s goods, it means
their enemies are at work and so they must battle hard to get that which
rightfully belongs to them.
It takes a
heart to love or to hate. Indeed, there is a thin line between love and hate. Our
natural human tendency is to hate those who hate us; wish their death or find
ways to fight back – this is normal. But then, Jesus is saying we should love even
those who hate us and pray (that is, bless) those who hate us. “You have heard
that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray
for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in
heaven.” (Matthew 5:43-45).
Take it
from me that if you are one of those Christians praying for the death of your
enemies or asking for Holy Ghost fire to burn them, your heart is filled with too much
hatred when you should be loving; you are not yet a Christian; you still do not
know Christ who loved those who killed him, who instead of praying for their
death prayed for their forgiveness.
Let us
pray: Lord Jesus, teach me to love especially when I consider it natural of me
to hate. Amen.
Be Happy.
Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Saturday of the
5th Week of Easter. Bible Study: Acts 16:1-10, Psalm 100 and John 15:18-21).
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