Who Can I Hate?

And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.

2 Timothy 2:24-26

Someone said that hate is like acid that eats the container which holds it. As a follower of Jesus I have been given no right to revenge. The Lord says that He will repay and that any vengeance needed will be met out by His hand not mine. In fact, He tells me that I must be kind to everyone!

That means when I am cheated I must be kind to the one who cheated me. When I am injured I must be kind to the one who injured me. When I am slandered I must be kind to the one who slandered me. When I am put in prison without real cause I must be kind not only to the prison guards but also to the one who put me there.

Have you ever heard a little child answer the question “Who do you love?” Sometimes the answer includes the words “I love everybody.”

As an adult you can easily see the childish folly in such a statement. Certainly, you can’t love everybody because you don’t know everybody. How can you love people you have never met and never will meet? You can’t love everybody, or can you?

Recently, I met a couple who are dear friends of a close friend of mine. I have heard about Joe and Lynn for years, but never met them. When I met them I realized that we had an instantly close relationship because of our mutual friend. My friend loves Joe and Lynn and so do I.

When Jesus hung on the cross it was because He loves me and every man, woman, and child who has ever lived! That includes everyone who has ever “done me wrong.” I cannot find a person on earth who is not loved by Jesus. If Jesus loves you, then I can as well.

Jesus loves me, and Jesus loves you. Jesus loves the best of us and Jesus loves the worst. If I have the love of Jesus in my heart there will be no room for anything else!