1 John 3:13 World's Hatred #256

14 Jan 1 John 3:13 World’s Hatred #256

Posted at 05:00h in Faith by Caroline 0 Comments

Last week I shared from 1 John 3:11 which says, “The beautiful message you’ve heard right from the start is that we should walk in self-sacrificing love toward one another.” In the following verse, verse 12, John briefly covers the story of Cain and Abel which takes place in Genesis 4:8-10. John points out that we should not be like Cain, who was evil and murdered his brother. For purposes of today, I don’t want to focus on verse 12 but since it connects last week and this week, it was important that I mentioned it.

So today, I want to share 1 John 3:13 which says, “So don’t be shocked, beloved brothers and sisters, if you experience the world’s hatred.” Doesn’t it seem that some people are shocked by the world’s hatred? It really does boggle my mind that people are surprised by the suicide rate, mass shootings, divorce, division, hatred and the long list of other things. Don’t get me wrong, just because I am not shocked doesn’t mean it doesn’t absolutely grieve my heart. But my point is this, the reason there is so much hatred is because people don’t have the love of Christ in their heart. It’s the same thing we see in scripture, which is exactly why I wanted to point out Cain.

You can only give away what you have. So if a person only has hate in their heart, guess what is going to be displayed in their life? Hate! And the opposite holds true too. If a person is full of love, love is what they are able to give away. I would insert verses on this topic here, but that is what I have been covering all these months from 1 John, so I encourage you to go back and read those posts.

Now back to 1 John 3:13. Should it be surprising when the hatred is among Christians? I wish I could answer yes but I think that goes back to the question I asked myself, and I encourage you to ask yourself and that is this, ““ If Christianity is more than a label and you are living intimately with him, then you won’t have hatred in your heart.

Again, anyone can call himself or herself a Christian but if a Christian has hate, then that person is not actually abiding or walking intimately with the Father. As Christians, let’s make it our top priority to walk intimately with Christ and when you and I do, the only thing that will be in us and therefore released around us, is LOVE! Although you and I shouldn’t be shocked by the hatred in the people around us, let’s make every effort to display Christ by loving the people of this world, especially those who are filled with hate.