Handling Hate

If you are a Child of God, then your relationship with Jesus the Christ is very sacred to you. The church where we worship King Jesus is Sacred to us. The Bible we study and read is sacred to us. The time we spend in prayer is sacred to us. The transformational work of the Holy Spirit in our lives is also sacred to us. We take these undergirding's of our faith into our everyday lives. We live differently from society and do not follow the paths the rest of the world follows. We offer our lives as living sacrifices so that God may use us as shining lights of hope to the rest of the world. The horrible reality is that the world does not always receive God's love in an appreciative way. Sometimes, the reaction is just the opposite. Christians and Christianity are mocked and hated for their Godly affiliation. This animosity has always been there, because the devil has waged war against the church. The difference now is that the hatred is no longer spewed from the shadows or the background. It is now front and center and there seems to be no limits to the hate that is spewed.

Knowing that this is going to be a reality that we are going to have to experience as a Christian we must learn how to respond & react to such hatred. When your faith is challenged and your relationship with Jesus is mocked it can be devastating and can become an obstacle for some of us. I want to share a few things to remember and put into practice when experiencing such attacks on our faith journeys.

1. Do not respond with hate in return - The sad reality is that those who are spewing hatred toward people of faith do not understand us because they cannot understand the spiritual things of God. Logic would say "How could you hate something that brings love, peace, and hope into the world?" The world is turned against God because the world is broken and feeds into the carnal way of understanding. When this sinful way of living is challenged in anyway the reaction will be full oof vitriol and hate. I say pray for them and ask God to give grace to them that one day they also may know the goodness of God as we do.
2. Do not be ashamed of the Gospel of Christ - No matter how hurtful, hateful, or isolating these attacks may be, never let them silence you from sharing the Gospel Truth. Responding to someone with the Gospel of Jesus is not responding in hate but just the opposite. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Everyone needs to hear the Gospel so that they may be saved and escape an eternity without God and have a life on the earth full of the goodness of God.
3. Do not let the darkness & deception of others become an obstacle to your faith walk - It is the tactic of the devil to hinder and rattle our faith. If we let the attacks of the enemy stop us from doing what we know is right, then the enemy has accomplished what he wanted. Never stop praying, praising, and serving our Lord and Savior for any reason.

This old broken world needs the children of God to shine as lights in the midst of darkness. We need to be agents of hope in a world filled with despair. Hold those things sacred to us close to your hearts and let them guide you through this lifetime as we patiently wait for our promised inheritance. God bless you brothers & sisters.

Pastor Tommy Messer