After washing his disciples’ feet, Jesus spends the next while comforting his disciples. He talks about how he will always be with them, and how they will be sent the Holy Spirit after he is gone. But then he breaks into a reality check.
18“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’[b] If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. 21They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me. 22If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin. 23He who hates me hates my Father as well. 24If I had not done among them what no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen these miracles, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. 25But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’[c]
- John 15
I was thinking about my class on the Gospel of John that I am teaching right now at church. I am introducing a family and a friend to the truth about Jesus and what he taught us to believe in the Gospel of John. It’s already been an exciting journey with them and I have been praising God for their enthusiasm and interest.
I was doing my prayer/dog walk this morning and I began to think about how it is important that as they recognize what Jesus us calling them to, and decide to follow him, that I be clear about the consequences of that decision.
In other countries around the world, the cost is clear. In many countries the cost is brutal – government harassment, persecution from Hindu or Muslim extremists, jail, even death. What we face here in Canada is not nearly as bad (though it is proceeding apace with restrictions on public speaking about the Bible where the Bible disagrees with “accepted truth” about certain things.) However there is a cost.
It got me thinking about my own life and the cost that I have paid to follow Jesus. To be sure, there have been many – far too many – instances where I have to my shame not stood up for Jesus. Yes, I avoided consequence for that for the moment, but it weighs on my heart and drives me forward today to live my fiath more publicly. In that way I can sympathize with Peter’s denial, and how it drove him into leadership in the church, never wanting to feel that shame of denial again.
But I have paid several times. I remember the first job I had after my paper route – at McDonald’s. I had worked there 6 months, and I had fallen into the trap of following the crowd. We had developed a routine of snitching small things to eat while on shift – we were supposed to pay for all food (at a small discount). I don’t absolve myself of guilt on that count – I made the choice to break the law. However, one day, we got caught. The assistant manager lined us all up and asked us to own up to the theft (of a Chicken McNugget to be sure). I was the only one who confessed, though I knew others had done the same that day. A week later I was out of a job. I could not lie about it, and I can only blame the Holy Spirit for convincting me of that.
A year later, I was working at Little Caesar’s Pizza. I was the day shift guy, on solo most of the time. One afternoon, a man came in with a 4 year old boy, and the boy had to use the bathroom really badly. The only bathroom we had was in the back of the store, and we were not supposed to let anyone behind the counter for any reason. I took pity on the kid and let him come back there to use the bathroom. A month later, my boss told me that the same man had returned to the store with his kid and asked to use the washroom again. When he was refused, he got offensive, yelling that he had been allowed to before – a quick deduction by my manager labelled me with the offense, and I owned up to it immediately. It cost me my job again, though my manager in this case was much more sympathetic and wrote a glowing referral letter for me.
I say this because I recognize that hardship has come from my decision to make Christ Lord. I don’t hold perfectly to anything but I do my best. That best will conflict with the world. The world wants me to compromise, to not rock the boat, to cheat, to deny, to be “safe”, to not offend. Jesus wants me to love him and love his people. Jesus want me to do good, and to accept consequences without grumbling, for I know what I deserve. These two cases are part of a much broader journey of employment, and caused me for a long time to doubt my worth as an employee. In some ways I still struggle with doubt. But I have confidence that as Jesus taught, that in the world I will have trouble, but I take heart because he has overcome the world, and one day this will all pass away, and I will receive the crown of glory that he has waiting for me.
Tags: evangelism, Gospe of John, persecution, prayer walk
