Why Does Following Jesus Make the World Hate You?
If Jesus calls us to love the world, why does the world so often respond with hostility?
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In John 15:19, Jesus says plainly, “If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world… the world hates you.”
Those words are jarring. They tell us that rejection isn’t an accident—it’s part of the cost of discipleship. But they also leave us wrestling with the tension: Why does living out the love of Christ provoke such opposition?
Sometimes it’s because the Gospel confronts values the world doesn’t want to give up. Other times, it’s because following Jesus reshapes our priorities in ways that don’t make sense to those around us. And sometimes… it’s simply because the light exposes what’s been hidden in the dark.
But here’s the hard question:
If we are called to be a light in the world, why would that light be met with hatred instead of curiosity or gratitude?
Is this inevitable for every believer—or does it depend on how we live out our faith?
And what does it look like to stand firm when that hostility becomes personal?
Is it possible to respond to the world’s hatred with Christ’s compassion—without softening the truth that made us different in the first place?
“Being different isn’t rejection—it’s redemption.”
Watch the 60-second reflection here:
