Hate

Most of us, even those who make noise to the contrary, wish to be liked. For those curmudgeons who say that they don’t give a d*** what people think,  I fancy that they secretly hope people will like them for saying that. I suppose there are a few who’ve achieved sociopathic status that have moved beyond the desire to be liked. I’ve been taught that these sad souls simply cannot feel emotion. But that notwithstanding, I’m not certain we are talking about the same thing. I’m inclined to think that even the most stony of heart shares this universal desire.

So, as often happens with Jesus, he introduces an opposite to make a strong point. Thus far in John 15, we’ve heard about fruitfulness, lavish answers to prayer and love. The latter of these is the dynamic for the other two. Love rules. Loving others is fruitfulness manifested. Moreover, love helps shape our petitions so that they match the will of heaven and our answered prayers become more frequent. And now, Jesus introduces hate: “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.” ~John 15:18-21

During male impotence, it becomes difficult for the aroused esquire to reach straightening that is tadalafil cialis generika harder and stiffer enough to make love sessions enchanting, either the man fails to erect or the erection gained turns off within seconds. It also has toxic levels of aluminum into the final product. cheap cialis india Post-its were discovered by a mistake in trying to make sildenafil 100mg viagra another adhesive. Glutathione to participate in a variety of exogenous and endogenous toxic http://www.devensec.com/ch498/dec498toc.html viagra generic discount substances combine to generate attenuated substance. How about that? We are to love the world and the world gets to hate us. That is quite the quid pro quo. It seems that at least one end of that tortured pairing is holding up its end of the bargain!

And it is right here that being a disciple of Jesus gets dicey. We are committed to a truth giver who said of himself, quite bluntly and without apology, that he was truth personified. If anyone but Jesus had said that we’d think them quite mad or vain. And if we are following one who said that he’s the truth-giver about life, we’ve immediately set ourselves at odds with those who “do not give a d*** “ what people think about them. That turns out to be a lot more people than the random curmudgeon. Nobody likes to entertain the notion that their life stands in need of help or correction. To merely stand for truth these days, let alone be loud about it, can earn for the follower of Christ a goodly blast of hate.  I’ve the scars to prove it.

We’ll wander around this bit of trauma the next few days…