IN PEACE AMIDST HATRED

John 15:18
“If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first.”
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In the Acts of the Apostles, the name of St. Stephen occurs for the first time on the occasion of the appointment of the first deacons. On the day of his death, the enemies of the Church of Jesus were furious to see how successful Stephen's preaching was. At last, they laid a plot for him. They could not answer his wise argument, so they got men to lie about him, saying that he had spoken sinfully against God. St. Stephen faced that great assembly of enemies without fear. In fact, the Holy Bible says that his face looked like the face of an angel.

The praying martyr was thrown down; and while the witnesses were thrusting upon him "a stone as much as two men could carry", he was heard to utter this supreme prayer: "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit". Little did all the people present, casting stones upon him, realize that the blood they shed was the first seed of a harvest that was to cover the world. And ironically, the leader of that mob was no other than Paul, called Saul at that time, and was the main persecutor of the Hellenist Christians.

Yes, hatred exists everywhere. It has always existed and it always will until the second coming of Messiah. That's the just the sad truth of the matter. It's a fact of life. However, hatred need not rule our lives nor must we react the same when it comes our way.

That is why we have the Holy Spirit, to help us through these trials and tribulations. We must remember Who we are, Who’s we are with, and What we have. We have the Spirit of God Himself living and breathing in us. There is no harm in asking for more blessings, but sometimes we forget about the suffering. We must remember that Christ suffered unto death.

We are built to last. God will never put more on us than we can bear. Release the anger in your heart and love those who hate you. Always remember, Christ’s suffering on our behalf is infinitely far greater than our suffering on His behalf will be.

Almighty Father, receive my spirit and do not hold this sin against those who hates me. We love you because You loved us first.

Sing joyfully to the LORD… serve the LORD with gladness…