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John 15:18-25
So I wish I could tell you that becoming a Christian would make everything just come up roses. Well – according to Jesus Himself, that is simply not true. Let’s listen to what He had to say about it.
John 15:18-25 (NIV) “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father as well. If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’
That’s some sobering teaching right there. And it’s not always easy to hear, but it’s not without hope because there are those who will see you living the Jesus Way and they will be accepting to the Jesus Truth and then will come to live the Jesus Life that was designed for us to live when humanity was created.
Let’s take a short rabbit trail for a moment. Do you understand what I mean when I say living the Jesus way, truth, and Life?
Jesus told us that the most important command was to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. And a second command was just as important as the first, to love your neighbor as yourself. That is living the Jesus way. As you are living the Jesus way, the Holy Spirit will lead you into all truth – even those parts you don’t want to hear. We call that conviction – it’s the good kind of guilt from when we commit sin. But you Love Jesus so much that those things that you are being convicted of in your heart become non-issues compared to loving God and loving others. And that then opens up your life to be inviting to others in joining us living the Jesus life – the life we were designed to live at creation. That life is to be in right relationship with God and others. Rabbit trail over.
Verse 19 says…“If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.”
So the rabbit trail actually does tie into today’s devotion. When we make that conscious choice to make Jesus Christ Lord of our lives our citizenship changes. Not our national citizenship but we no longer belong to the kingdom of this sin-broken world. We are now citizens of heaven.
When we make Jesus Christ Lord of our lives, we become citizens of the Kingdom of God. And that kingdom – transcends all others. It does not have earthly boarders, and that kingdom is the kingdom which will last for eternity. What a glorious day that is, when someone makes Jesus their Savior.