I need you to realize something today, an item that many who profess Christ as Lord do not like to think about, for we seek, as it were, the companionship of others, we want to be liked.
For those that know you as a follower of Jesus Christ, those that are sure that you cannot be moved by the cares of the world, that the circumstances that surround you will not deter you from the path that the Lord has placed upon you, these individuals hate you. You may use the term “like less than” if you desire, perhaps bitterness or contempt would suit your palate better, but you must come to the realization that by standing for Christ, you are standing against the world. By adhering to the precepts of the Lord Jesus, you will, even inadvertently, create within them enmity, a friction or resentment, for you are not like them, you do not fit in.
“Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh.” (Prov. 3:25) When sudden change comes upon the lost, they fear, they seek refuge in the known, while the born-again believer sees a door being opened by the Lord for further service to the kingdom of His glory, when their world begins to collapse because of circumstances either of their own making or by those they have no control over, they fear, they seek for a calm place where they can be reassured, while the children of God always have a place of refuge, a strong tower to run into. “The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.” (Prov. 18:10) We are not like them, and they hate us because of that.
This hatred takes on many forms, from simple gestures and mild discontentment with those who are following Christ, to pure evil, even unto the torture and killing of the flesh, but they hold no power over us, and when they realize this truth, that is when they become even more loved by us. We can see their end if they do not accept the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior, and their hatred becomes unto us as a great sorrow. To know the fact that our Lord is indeed risen, that where He is we will also be one day, and to know that the end and eternity of all who do not accept Him as Lord is more than the thoughts we can bear, we love them. We do all that we can to let them know that they too are loved.
Your examples are a great tool for the glory of God, but it is with the words we speak they will come to the knowledge of the One who loves them, and died for them, and with these words we will be hated. That should not matter one bit to us, but it should matter because of them, we must always remember this animosity, this aversion towards us, is because of Christ, that the lost have no other individual to express their hatred to, and so the messenger is the recipient of their blows. “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.” (John 15:18) Herein is the crux of this letter to you my friends, are you willing to be hated for the sake of Christ.
None of us wants angry words tossed at us, either to our face or behind our backs, no one who loves wants to be hated, but what we must come to realize is that they only hate us because of Christ, if we did not mention His Name, then they would have no problem with us, we would be just like them, that is their desire, for us to denounce the Name of the Most Holy One, and to come back into the world. If we do so, we will be welcomed with open arms, all will be forgiven, and you will once again be a part of their world, a world that is on its way to eternal damnation. We did not accept Christ because we wanted to go to heaven, we gave our lives to him because we came to the realization of the truth that He first loved us, and gave Himself for us. (1st John 4:19)
It is impossible to count the number of times that I have failed Him, that I have, because of the fear of losing a friend, of losing a close relationship with someone, kept my mouth shut when I should have been telling them about the One I serve, but I too am human. There is a part of me that is dying though, a part that cares less about what the lost think about me, and is becoming more concerned with being a profitable servant, one whose eyes are upon the prize that is Christ. With these new movements within me, as it were, I see a strength that I did not know was there, a man is emerging that cares more for the lost, and less about the consequences to himself. I find within me a strength that I did not know was there, and I am ashamed, because it was there all along, the Holy Spirit has been within me since the day I fell on my face at the cross, I simply would not obey, I refused to accept the love that He was offering to me in the fullest amount.
We can completely understand the fear that the lost have about many areas of their lives, they know no hope outside of the temporal, they do not have an eternal view, but for a born-again believer to have a continuing fear of the lost is inconceivable to me now. What we have experienced, we have a better understanding of, what we know as a fact we are adamant about, the truth is dogmatic, it cannot be changed. To know without a shadow of a doubt that Jesus Christ is Lord, that he reigns and will reign for all eternity, that His love for us is endless, and that we are always in His hands, makes a man of God stand strong in the power of the Holy spirit, in the knowledge of these truths. We have been sanctified, we have been set apart for the work of God, and as soon as we open our mouths to the lost about these truths, we will be hated.
In certain audio and visual software programs there is a function called “markers,” it is the option to hit certain keys on the keypad and when done, it will leave a visual representation, a marker to assist you in returning to that exact spot to do whatever modifications are necessary at that location. There is an analogy to these markers and the great white throne of judgement, (Rev.20:11) the final place the lost will be before they are cast into the lake of fire for all eternity, and these markers have to do with us, the people of God whose names are forever written in the Lambs Book of Life. (Rev. 3:5) The life of every single person who has ever lived has been recorded in its entirety, from birth to death, no exceptions, saved and unsaved. Not every moment will need to be reviewed though, it would do little good for the believers life to be examined before he came to Christ, for all was forgiven the moment that you gave your life to Jesus, the moments we were asleep would serve no purpose to watch, but there are those other times, the incidences when we either were of value to the kingdom, or in direct rebellion against it, the times that we gave the Lord the glory that He alone deserves, and the times that we did not, these we will be judged for, and our rewards will be based upon these actions or inactions. “Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.” (1st Cor. 3:13)
Herein is how I would ask you think then when it comes to the times that you are in the presence of the lost, are you setting a marker in their life. When their lives are reviewed, it will not be for any rewards, they have received their rewards here upon this earth, it will not be necessary to review their entire lives, only those places in it where they denied the Lord of glory, the markers in their life where they were given the same opportunity that all have been given, those places in their life where they saw no value in Christ. We as followers of Jesus Christ, as obedient servants to His will, are the ones that are supposed to set these markers, not of course for that moment, for our desire is always that they would be shown the truth, and accept it and Him who has sent us.
Our lack of obedience is no excuse for them, for if you are not willing to perform this task, the Lord will send someone who will, they will have no excuse. But unless you fear their reprisals, unless you are more of a friend to the world than you are to Christ, then that will not happen, will it, for the lost are to be on our hearts each and every day, their burden is our burden, as much as is in us. To know the truths of the Word of God is a staggering responsibility, to hide it from others is a shame beyond comprehension. “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15)
You are loved without measure, go and show that love to all who will listen, pray that will be the moment they accept Him as Lord, and not just another marker to bear witness against them.
