If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father also. If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: 'They hated me without a cause.'
Sin is filled with rationalizations but sin is not a rational idea. One does not sin because it is the rational thing to do. One sins because they have chosen themselves over God and over other people. Sin is the opposite of love and therefore sin is synonymous with hate and that hate is directed at God and his creation. The tendency of man is to defend and dismiss sin calling it an error in judgment or a mere character flaw. Jesus has a different idea.
In our passage today Jesus is very clear. The rejection of Christ as Lord is the heart of sin. He tells us that we reject the Father when we reject him and this rejection, at it's core, is motivated by hatred. Some may consider this to be an extreme position but the words of Christ here lay us bare and reveal to us the true nature and motivation of sin. Sin has its roots in hatred and we are wise when we recognize the seriousness of such hatred.
Forgive me Lord for the times that I have chosen hate over love.
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This reminds me of my Jewish boss at Whico Chemical Co. years ago.
ReplyDeleteI shared the gospel with in many times in many ways. Because he really liked me, he listened. Then one day he called me into his office and shocked me with the following statement. "Wanda, I wish I had never met you ~~ before I met you, I just figured when I get to the pearly gates, I would get in because I've been a good person and never intentionally hurt anyone....but then you come along with your Bible and your strong faith, and tell me that's not the ticket to heaven...so now I don't have an excuse!!!
I lost track of Bernie after we moved up North, and tried to find him after we retired but without success. He may have already met his Maker. I only pray that he made the right decision about the Gospel.