" 10 In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. 11 For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, 12 not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous. 13 Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you."I John 3:10-13
The children of God are distinguished from the children of the devil by two things:
They practice righteousness
(played out before God and not for the purpose of pleasing men)
and
They love one another
(Not the appearance of love- goes deeper to the sincerity of our motives- God sees our actions and the deeper things that drive us)
Why does the world hate us for this? Because when we live in a manner that is pleasing to God (practicing righteousness and loving our brothers and sisters) it accuses and convicts them in the privacy of their hearts.
Able committed no offense against Cain. Able, through his righteous example, served as an uncomfortable reminder to Cain of how displeasing and selfish his offering was to God. He was faced with a choice- either bow in sweet humility to the truth and change or destroy the immediate cause of his discomfort- Able.
As Christians, we ought to live in such a way that we bring everyone within our sphere of influence to the same place, where they are prompted by our Godly example to either surrender their pride and bow to the truth or seek to destroy us.
If we aren't feeling the wrath of a guilty world, than perhaps we need to examine how we are living, for by following Christ we offer ourselves up as a lightning rod for persecution and blessing.
6 comments:
amen.
Sorry, Tate--I disagree.
Don't forget it was said of the early church that they had "the goodwill of all the people."
Sorry, Tate--it's just sketchy to measure the depth of your living by the way others are reacting to you. I've known way too many jackassical preachers who nobody liked and it had nothing to do with their godly example.
With John, I "won't marvel" if people don't like me. But I won't get all huffy and worried if they do like me.
MJ
Sorry, Tate--there should be only one "Sorry, Tate" in my last post!
:)
Outstanding! Michael Jordan droppin' some truth. I like a pastor who uses the word sketchy. What you wrote has given me pause, but still there is more than just a kernel of truth in what I wrote. I will rephrase- in the event that the world hates you, this is probably why.
Agreed as amended. There certainly is more than a kernel there. :)
MJ
the persecutions will come, cause the bible says so. but be of good cheer. for...
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