Hatred Of The World

¹⁴ I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. ¹⁵ I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. ¹⁶ They do not belong to this world any more than I do. ¹⁷ Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. ¹⁸ Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world.
-John 17:14018 (NLT)

Wouldn't it be great if, at that moment of salvation, we would be with Jesus in Heaven? Many of you probably answered with a resounding "Yes!". But, that wasn't the intent of God, or of Jesus either. For the next couple of days, we are going to look at these verses and use them as a starting point in living for Jesus.

John 17:14 says, "I have give them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world." Did you ever wonder why we, as Christians, go through so much strife and difficulties. It's because of the hatred of the world. By the world, I don't think Jesus necessarily meant the society outside our windows. I think He had something else in mind. If you spend time in the letters of Paul, he spends a great time writing about the struggle between the sin nature and the person in Christ. The world of sin, that is what I believe Jesus is referring to. The sin, the evil that we left behind when we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior. The sin, the evil that at one time controlled everything about us. The sin, the evil that many people are still living in. That is what, I believe, hates us. Why? Because we, as Christians, no longer live in that world any longer. 

Jesus has given us the Word of God. It's up to us to decide what we are going to do with it. Are you going to reject it, and keep living under the control of your own selfish desires? Or are you going to receive it, and live in the peace that can only come from the very throne of God? Think About It.