Why does who hate us? There is so much hatred in the world, who are you talking about, Steve?
I am talking about the Jewish people, and anyone else who believes in God and is faithful. The world is the one hating, and Jews and Believers are the ones it hates.
Why? The explanation is simple: They are shooting the messenger.
The Jewish people were chosen by God to be His representatives to the world; a nation of Priests. They were the first custodians of God’s Word, and through the Jewish people we receive the Messiah. Through the Messiah we receive forgiveness of sins and salvation. The “Christian” (usually interpreted as Born Again) people are in a similar role because they also bring the Good News of the Kingdom of God to the world (note I say similar- they did not, do not, and never will replace the Jewish people as God’s chosen people. Replacement Theology is a lie from the pit of hell.)
The problem is that the world doesn’t want to hear about it. The world is cursed, self-absorbed and hedonistic. It is wretched and perverse. The world prefers sin to salvation.
When we talk about our beliefs and demonstrate our faithfulness, to the world it is like poking them in the eye with a sharp stick. It brings to their attention, and to their dismay, the truth about who and what they are. It reminds them of the eventual payment they will have to make at the final judgement.
To restate what a nice Jewish boy from Tarsus once said: to those who do not believe, we who do believe have the smell of death upon us. It is not the smell of our death, it is the smell of their death!
That’s why the Jewish people are hated and persecuted. That is why Believers, whether Messianic Jews, Christian, Catholic, Episcopalian, Protestant, whatever, who are not ashamed of the Gospel, who try to save the souls of the unfortunate non-Believers, are hated, despised, persecuted and ostracized. No one wants to hear the truth when it comes to them having to suffer eternal damnation. I really can’t blame them for that- who wants to hear that your life choices will lead you to eternal suffering in hell’s fire and you will be tormented forever?
So, nu? What do they do? Do they change for the better? Do they worship the God of their Fathers and do T’Shuvah, so they can be saved? Nooooooo!!! They kill the messenger. They exercise Ostrich Management by sticking their head in the sand and pretending that the truth doesn’t exist.
{By the way, since Donna and I have been Zoo Docents for over 15 years, I have to tell you that ostriches don’t really stick their head in the sand when they are threatened.}
It’s probably not a big surprise to anyone that the world hates those who love God, especially if you have tried to save someone from their fate. It is almost so obvious that it doesn’t need to be mentioned, yet I mention it because, all too often, those things that are right in front of our face are the ones we get so used to seeing we fail to notice them anymore.
If you are reading this and you are not one of the “messengers” I am talking about, please consider the message. You can ignore the truth about God and the Messiah all you want, but it doesn’t change what the truth is. You will never get scientific, definitive proof that God exists. This is how faith works- you become faithful, then you receive confirmation.
Actually, confirmation is all around you- the trees, the wonderful beauty of a sunset, the fact that you can eat something and get nutrition from it, the respiratory system, the wondrous mysteries of the Universe, reproduction of living things, the tremendous diversity of life… everything around and about you demonstrates God exists. The lie that the Enemy has been very successful at spreading is that just because we can explain how something works means it is just science, and not God.
I can explain how an internal combustion engine works, but I don’t know how to create it. I can’t think it into existence, and just because I can fix a broken one doesn’t mean I can make one from nothing.
There is a cute story I heard once: the leading geneticists of the world came together and decided that since they could map out the human genome, and knew about recombinant DNA, they figured they could cure any disease and form humans as they wanted to. They told God they didn’t really need Him anymore. God replied, asking if they thought they could create a human being using just a handful of clay. They thought it over and answered that they could, so God say, “Go ahead- show me!” They picked up a handful of clay and God said, “Oh no! That clay is mine- you have to make your own.”
The truth is all around us. The oldest truth is that God chose the Jewish people to be His messengers. The truth is that they will never be replaced as such, and will eventually accept their own Messiah, Yeshua. Not all, but those who do will be part of the remnant that has always been faithful. Of the billions of people that have been born, have died, and those that haven’t even yet been conceived, only a remnant, a small percentage, have or will accept the truth about God. And even from them, only a remnant will survive faithfully to receive the ultimate prize- eternity with God. It isn’t joyful news, it isn’t comfortable, it isn’t all rosy-wonderful-Pollyanna-happy news. Yeshua never said that following Him would be fun. In fact, He said we would need to pick up our execution stake to follow Him. That’s not a very pretty picture, and if I were a hedonistic, self-absorbed person who was enjoying the fruits of my sin, I would not find that a desirable alternative.
In fact, it sucks. Those who believe and are faithful will endure a lifetime on Earth of being persecuted, ostracized, hated, and many of us will lose our lives because of our belief in God. Those we try to save will kill us. When all is said and done, the world works this way: if you don’t like the message, kill the messenger.
Then, again, what can the world do to us? If we save a life, we will both be blessed, and if we lose our life doing so, we will be with God.
Sounds like a win-win to me.
