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As a child and a teenager, I wanted to be accepted. To belong to the circle of friends that lived on my street. I wanted them to like me and to let me be part of the things they did. To be asked to play with them. To be part of the baseball games. To be invited to the birthday parties. To be liked by them. It hurt when they made fun of me or acted like I did not exist—that I didn’t belong. And so I tried hard to be accepted, to belong. I tried to act and dress in the same ways. And I laughed at their jokes even when they were not funny.
But sometimes I found myself doing things that I should not be doing. Ringing a doorbell at an older couple’s home and running away. Going along in making fun of someone else. I knew these things were wrong but I found it so easy to do them. Because I wanted to belong.
Have you ever done something you should not have because you wanted to belong to the group or you did not want them to think you were a sissy or a goodie-goodie or a geek or whatever name is used today?
As adults do, we still have a desire to belong, to be accepted by others? At work? In the neighborhood? In your extended family? Doesn’t it feel good to tell a joke and everyone laughs and thinks we are funny?
It’s a basic need that we need to belong. To be loved as one of the group. To be loved by the world as its own. It hurts to be made fun of or rejected - at any age. Even if you are retired. If you thought you were part of a group of friends and they do something without you, you feel left out and hurt.
Jesus says to us that if you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. We want to belong, we want to be loved. We want to be popular. To say what will be accepted.
It is said that President Lyndon Johnson used to carry with him the latest opinion polls so that he knew what stand to take on a particular day.
But as Christians we have a dilemma. Jesus says to us "You do not belong to the world." To each one of you who are a true believer, Jesus says to you that you do not belong to the world. In John 17:14, Jesus says that we are not of this world any more than He is of this world. This means that we look at things differently than the world sees things.
The world we are referring to is the human system that is opposed to God—the world which thinks that we are ok and we don’t need God—that we are able to look after ourselves and don’t need God—that we are to look out for ourselves first—that success and popularity are important.
Jesus says that we don’t belong to this world and their way of thinking and living. That we are not to feel at home in this world. That we do not get our security, our comfort and hope from this world. That we are, as Peter, says, 1 Pet 2:11 "aliens and strangers in the world." That we are not to even think as the world thinks. That we are not to conform to the pattern of this world.
And yet this happens so easily. Even in the church. The church is to go out into the world but I believe that in the last few decades the world has gotten more into the church than the church has gotten into the world. And into the lives of each believer.
Even in discussing how God wants us to live, we so easily use human logic rather than the word of God. God says to turn the other cheek when we are slapped, but even as believers, we say that may sound good but it doesn’t work. We don’t need to be doormats. Listen to yourselves as you discuss issues or how we are to act in various situations. I wish we carried tape recorders around. We might be surprised how often our words reflect worldly wisdom rather than the word and will of God.
Remember, we do not belong to the world. Or to its ways of thinking. We are exposed more than any other generation to the world’s way of thinking. Bombarded by printed material, by music, by movies, by TV shows.
We need to remember that we don’t belong to the world. Rather we belong to Jesus Christ. Jesus says to us "You do not belong to the world" Why? Because Jesus says, “I have chosen you out of the world."
Rom 1:6 – “And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.” Jesus says, “I have chosen you and you now belong to me. Body and soul, in life and in death. All of you belongs to me. I have purchased you with my blood.”
And that means that we also are at home in Christ. That our security and hope is in Him. And that we live by His word rather than by the way of the world.
But because we belong to Him, Jesus says the world will hate us. That means that they will let us know that we do not belong. That we are not accepted because we are different.
But doesn’t it seem like a strong over-reaction for the world to hate us? Not from the world’s point of view. When the world looks at our values, they see that their behavior is condemned by God. Our compassion for others exposes how self-absorbed they are. Our peace and joy makes the world angry because they want what we have.
Jesus says that their hatred to us is part of their hatred toward Him. If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first.(v. 18) Even though they saw Jesus perform miracles and could see that He was from God, they hated Him. In fact, they hated the Father as well. Paul says that men are basically God-haters. Our sinful nature leads man to hate God.
Jesus tells us why they hated Him. Because He spoke to them and revealed to them that they were sinners. He says that if He had not taught them and done what He did, they would not have been guilty of sin.
Now, we know that all people are condemned by sin and under judgment. But now they were aware of this guilt. And they have no excuse for their sin. They now know better. I like to say it this way. You didn’t really know what sin was until Jesus came. So, because you didn’t know, you didn’t feel guilty of sinning. But now that Jesus has come, you know your sin, and God knows that you know.
But as Jesus said, they hated them for no reason. He exposed their sin. But not to condemn them but to save them.
John 3:17 – “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
He told them they were sinners so that they might repent and be saved. But their failure to repent meant that they were really condemning themselves.
As we said, people don’t want to be told they sin. We don’t like our mistakes pointed out to us. We want to think that we are alright. It’s easier to not go to church, to not listen to what Jesus says, than to hear what He says. Because to do so means that we must hate certain things about ourselves.
Now I don’t believe that we need to go around and point out everyone’s sins to them. Jesus didn’t do that, especially to the poor and those seen as sinners. He did however, especially point out the sins of those who thought they were righteous.
But we will be placed in situations where we must testify to the truth. Just as the Holy Spirit has testified in our hearts about Jesus, so in vs. 27, we are told that we must testify about Jesus. That means that when we are asked whether something is right or wrong, we must answer truthfully. That if someone thinks they are good enough to go to heaven without trusting in Jesus, we must tell them the error of their thinking. And it means that there will be times when we cannot go with the crowd and we must tell them why.
The result is that we will be hated. That is what Jesus tells us. If we aren’t hated, could that mean that we live as if we belong to the world. That we are so careful to not be rejected that we fail to testify or that we live the same as those who belong to the world.
We don’t want to be hated or rejected but it comes with the territory of being a Christian. But we can have comfort even in this. For the hatred may show that we do belong to Jesus. As an assurance of our faith. And we remember that our Lord and Savior was hated and we share in His suffering and rejection. And hopefully we are able to see, even more, our need for fellowship. That in the church we can be accepted by fellow believers. We need acceptance, but let us find that acceptance in God and in one another. That is why Paul tells us to accept one another.
And we remember that we are not of this world but of God. And so, we have something great to look forward to. To those who have chosen to walk with Christ, Max Lucado writes,
You’ll be home soon. You may not have noticed it, but you are closer to home than ever before. Each moment is a step taken. Each breath is a page turned. Each day is a mile marked, a mountain climbed. You are closer to home than you’ve ever been.
Before you know it, your appointed arrival time will come; you’ll descend the ramp and enter the City. You’ll see faces that are waiting for you. You’ll hear your name spoken by those who love you. And, maybe, just maybe - in the back, behind the crowds - the One who would rather die than live without you will remove his pierced hands from his heavenly robe . . . and applaud. [THE APPLAUSE OF HEAVEN p.190]
