“If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first.” (John 15:18 NLT)

Jesus has already instructed His followers to love one another, to stay connected to Him (the true vine), and to produce fruit in the world. Now He wants us to understand that doing those things will cost us dearly. In fact, people will hate us and persecute us for them.

We shouldn’t be surprised by it. We shouldn’t try to avoid it. We couldn’t if we tried anyway. There’s no safe path for followers of Christ. It’s not a matter of if the world will hate us; it’s only a matter of when. Our best strategy is to anticipate and prepare for it.

But that’s easier said than done, isn’t it? Hate isn’t such a big deal when it’s used to describe a reaction to cauliflower or mosquitoes. But when someone talks about hating a person, it is a big deal. And when that person is you, it’s a really big deal.

But our relationship with Christ is an infinitely bigger deal. And if hatred is the result, it’s a small price to pay. Especially when we consider what Jesus sacrificed for us.

The world’s hatred shows itself in different ways. Maybe you’ve been mocked by friends because you no longer join them in certain activities. Maybe you’ve been the target of online attacks accusing you of intolerance. Maybe you’ve had your job threatened because you refused to compromise your beliefs.

The aim is to silence us—or at least quiet us. To marginalize us. To make us look like radical extremists. To get us to compromise—to meet our enemies halfway. But we can’t do that. Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless” (Matthew 5:13 NLT).

Ultimately, the enemies of our faith don’t hate us for our political affiliation or our stand on social issues. They hate us because we follow Christ. And they hate Him. So there’s something to celebrate in being hated. It means people identify us with Christ. They see Him in us. It tells us we’re doing something right.

Jesus does more than warn us about being hated. He promises that the Holy Spirit, our Advocate, will face down the hatred with us, giving us strength and reminding us how loved we really are. Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit as “the Spirit of truth” (verse 26 NLT). The Spirit helps us recognize the lies of the world. He reminds us that if we follow Christ, we’re right, and our enemies are wrong.

He reminds us that the alternative to the world’s hate is much worse than the hate itself. The alternative is compromising or abandoning our relationship with Christ. Persevering through the hate is a much better option. The hatred of the world is a good barometer of our spiritual well-being.

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