Loved or Hated

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

LOVED OR HATED

John 7:1-9

7:1 After this, Jesus went around in Galilee, purposely staying away from Judea because the Jews there were waiting to take his life. 2 But when the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near, 3 Jesus' brothers said to him, "You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples may see the miracles you do. 4 No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world." 5 For even his own brothers did not believe in him.

6 Therefore Jesus told them, "The right time for me has not yet come; for you any time is right. 7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil. 8 You go to the Feast. I am not yet going up to this Feast, because for me the right time has not yet come."  9 Having said this, he stayed in Galilee.

NIV

We could focus on the doing good deeds so the world could see, but that is not the main point of the truth here. The main point is that the world hates Jesus because he testifies to the truth and the evil that people do. In our more postmodern churches we are faced with the preaching of loving everyone, hoping to love them into the kingdom. If we show them all our good deeds in the community they might think kindly of us, and maybe just pop in church someday so they can hear a message geared for believers, but never hear the gospel and their need to repent and turn from their wicked ways. It would appear Jesus did not pull and punches, he told it like it was, and because of that he was hated, if fact they wanted to kill him. Should we not be more like Jesus? Should we not tell people the truth, that sin is sin and it is evil and God does not accept their sin? Although he does still love them, in fact so much that he sent Jesus to die for them. This is the message we should be telling them, not just trying to love them into the kingdom. We cannot be tolerant of sin, in us or in others. We need to tell it like it is. If a person is living in sin, we should just love them enough to tell them the truth. If we say we love them, but let them remain living in sin, without Jesus, then we truly do not love them, but are just giving them lip service. Love means telling the truth, Jesus did, and of course some people did not want to hear it, in fact they refused to hear it, and wanted to shut him up by killing him. Should we want the world to love us, or hate us? If we are like Jesus, then the world will hate us. It is what it is, so are we loved or hated?