Pastor Joe Sanders - May 13, 2012
Become Hated and Helped
We kind of expect to have troubles in this life. Its the way this world operates and every belief system has an accounting for bad circumstances- luck, karma, coincidence. Lots of words to describe the way this world is rarely fair and often is full of trouble. We also expect some people to just be mean. Some people are just not nice and they have it out for you, and they can be bitter and cruel enemies. Still others, and probably the hardest kind of trouble and difficulty to deal with, is the hatred and cruelty of people directed toward you when you have done nothing toward them but good. You have gone out of your way to provide for them and to the best of your ability you have looked out for their good, but for some unknown reason they hate you, abuse you, deny you, revile you, hurt you. Being a Christian involves being treated like this, not because we are offensive but because our master and his message are offensive.
Scripture References: John 15:18-4