The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that its works are evil. John 7:7 NIV
The world will be at ease with every Christian who does not expose its evilness, which shows forth in a compromising disposition towards the world. Jesus' attitude towards the world was one that did not only expose the world's evil, but rebuked its hypocrisy. His good life made the evil in the world evident. When we live like Jesus, our lives will both expose and rebuke the evil and hypocrisy of the world. Our lives will be a testimony to the world that there is a better way to live, and that this better way is possible only through union with Christ.The world cannot be ambivalent about a believer whose faith radiates the light and purity that can only be found in Christ Jesus. Their response to such a life cannot be one of love and admiration, but one of hate. Jesus made this truth clear to His disciples when He told them that if the world hated Him, it will hate them too.A church loved by the world is a church that has lost its shine and purpose. Such a church is one only in name. But as long as the church remains a true reflection of Jesus Christ, the world will hate her. The same will be true also for individual members of the church. May the light of our lives never dim because this is the only hope that a dying world has, even though it may hate to see the light of the glory of Christ shining in us, yet, that light is its only hope for peace with God. Therefore, we must keep our light shining.Toni
