We don’t like to consider the fact that the world hates us because we believe in Jesus, but it does. Jesus said the world would hate the message of His salvation and those who carry it. This sounds very strident to our tenderized ears, but it’s true.

When Jesus told His disciples they were part of the vine of faith, he illustrated an important point. Apart from Jesus, they could do nothing. We would wither and die. In His discourse about the true vine, He told the disciples several times to remain in His love. 

To “remain” has also translated as “abide.” It means not departing from the Lord and remaining present in His love. It speaks of an unbroken fellowship we have with the Lord. This is not about having questions about some aspects of our faith. It refers to our lives being secure in the person Jesus and our remaining in His love no matter what happens.

Our ability to remain in the Lord was modeled for us by Jesus’ love of the Father, “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love” (John 15:9). Jesus made it possible for us to remain in Him because of His relationship with the Father.

Jesus said, “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you” (John 15: 18-19).

The hatred of the world against Jesus and His followers has no excuse, The Lord said, “They hated me without cause” (15:25). 

As Jesus prepared for His departure, He said when the Spirit comes, “He will convict the world of its sin and of God’s righteousness, and the coming judgment. The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me.”  (16:8-9). If you need a reason for the world to hate you, look at what the Spirit does – he convicts people of their sin, he will point to the righteousness of God while the world descends deeper into darkness, and let people know that a future judgment is coming. These manifestations of the Spirit are what stirs the hatred.

In our cooperation with the message of the Spirit, we will not be alone, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future” (vs. 13). 

As the world’s hatred of Jesus and His Church increases, we will be guided by the Spirit on how to respond to the hatred. Only those who have remained in the Lord and understand His love will know how to respond properly to the hatred. Our most important assignment at this time in history is to keep our love for Jesus alive and abiding in Him, like branches that have remained attached to the true grapevine.