Pam Padgett ... teacher
John 15:18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before
it hated you. 19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own:
but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the
world, therefore the world hateth you. 20 Remember the word that I said
unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have
persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my
saying, they will keep yours also. 21 But all these things will they do
unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me.
When we are hated or persecuted in some way for doing the will of God,
we may feel a sense of loss, grief, and sometimes bewilderment.
But this teaching Jesus gave us can be such a comfort in these times. We are reminded that Jesus was also hated and rejected as He did the will of the Father. Because we are His servants, hatred and persecution come to us as well. We are not alone in facing these things.
And those who reject us don't know God. If they knew God, they would not reject us for doing His will. But we know God and are known by God. For God has chosen us and we belong to Him. Wonderful things!
Jesus also taught that when we are hated and persecuted for His sake,
we should rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for we have great reward in
heaven ...
Matthew 5:11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and
persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for
my sake. 12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in
heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
We can be greatly helped and able to overcome ... even
rejoicing and being exceedingly glad ... by conforming how we see the situation to these things.