Today, we come to 1 John 3:13 which reads, "Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you."
As we saw yesterday, in 1 John 3:11-12, the Apostle John has introduced another contrast: love and hate. The story of
Cain and Abel is used of the Apostle to help us to see this contrast. The goal that John has here is this: the Devil inspired jealousy within Cain's heart. As a result, Cain's jealousy gave rise to hatred. And his hatred culminated in murder. Cain is the model of the unbelieving world that you and I mix with every day. You might say, "the world is Cain's posterity." And, the same Devil who inspired Cain to hate and ultimately murder, influences the people of this world accordingly.
In v.13, John writes, "Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you." You see, the faith of the Believer in the God of the Bible, condemns the world and they do not know what to do with their angst. The world does not hate good people; the world only hates Christian
people. If you are just a good
person, the world will admire and like you. The world likes good people
because it feels that they are a compliment to itself. So the world
applauds them. But the world, we are told, hates Christians, not because
they are hateful, not because they are good, not because they do good,
but specifically because they are of God. The world's hatred for the christian is misplaced.
I will never forget when I experienced this for the first time. I was working at B&B Loan Company in Savannah, Georgia. B&B Loan Company was a fancy name for a Pawn Shop. It was a Saturday morning and we were preparing for the day. I was responsible to place all of the jewelry back in the jewelry case, among other things. It was my habit, since I was a young christian of about six months, to listen to the radio program of Dr. Charles Stanley, pastor of Atlanta's First Baptist Church. So, I am listening and working, when all of a sudden the radio went silent. I walked over to the radio and turned it back on. Just then, I noticed that the radio had been turned off by one of my older, unbelieving co-workers. As I turned the radio back on, the co-worker came at me. To make a long story short, he slapped me. I was so mad that I wanted to strike him in return. This was my first experience with what John is telling us here in 1 John 3:13. The point is this: the Christian must not be surprised that the unbelieving world hates us. The Lord Jesus told us that their misplaced hatred is really for Him (John 15:18). We must be compassionate at every turn. And by doing so, pointing them to the Lord Jesus Himself.
Finally, the end of the Pawn Shop story. I walked away and went to the front door of the business. As I stared out the door, with tears in my eyes, the man who had struck me came and apologized for his actions. This proud man was not known for such actions. I would only hope that he trusted in the Lord Jesus as his Savior before he past away just a few years ago, because of that moment.
