Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. (I John 2:9 ESV)
Fear Not… Then Stop Hating
Any time Christians find ourselves acting like the world, it is a red warning flag.
And lately, we have been hating.
We know who are enemies are, and we want the worst for them. We want them toppled politically, emptied economically, and embarrassed publicly.
After all… look what they have done to US? They pass laws against the Church. They accuse Christians of being bigots. They mock, belittle, and insult us in nearly every news broadcast.
They hate us.
And lately we think that means we get to hate them back.
But John tells us a different story.
We, born in the amazing love of Christ Jesus, get to be different.
We get to love instead of hate.
Fear and hate are closely connected. Hate comes from fear, and leads to more hate. Once we start hating, winning becomes the goal, and we become afraid we will lose. When we are resting in hate, there is no rest. When we see our enemy and hate, not only do we see their hatred of us, but we increase the hate quotient by adding OUR hate into the recipe.
When we find peace and hope through Christ, we are supposed to be in the light instead of the darkness.
Why are we still acting like we are in the dark?
Fear not, then stop hating