They Hate Us!

 

“Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations.”

—Psalm 90:1

Here in the United States, we Christians—who believe that the Holy Spirit inspired the authors to write the Bible, that the Spirit has preserved God’s Word, and that the words mean what they say—have come to a startling awareness of late that many other people—including some other Christians who do not necessarily believe in the inerrancy of Scripture or accept the interpretation of Scripture to which we hold—actually despise us. It’s a startling awareness. But, it’s also one which Christians in other parts of the world have lived with for a very long time. We should not be surprised, nor should we become “cry babies” about this. We are, however, allowed to feel sad about it.

In our current culture, it is not only “not cool” to take the Bible literally, it is a reason to be despised and rejected. It is especially painful to realize that people we love and care about reject us because we believe the Bible means what it says.

The Psalmist knew what it was to feel such rejection. He also knew what it was to seek comfort from the one who would never reject him. Notice the words of praise that he writes in Psalm 90:1-2, 4:

Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night.

We “Christ’s-ones” are already a minority. Yet, God asks us to remain faithful—faithful in our sincerely held beliefs, but also faithful as instruments in this world of God’s mercy, grace, and unfailing love.

God calls us to respond with love toward everyone who despises and rejects us. With the hard-realized humility that comes from knowing that we are truly and only despicable sinners saved by God’s grace through Christ, we need to wrap our firmly held beliefs in God-breathed love.

It’s a challenge that I pray we will rise to in these troubled days.

 

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