1-john-3-15

Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him. -1 John 3:15.

Ever hated someone? I don’t mean the sadly casual use of the word “hate” as in, “I hate veggie hot dogs.” I mean true hate, where you so extremely and intensely dislike a person, that you don’t care what happens to them, or maybe you even wish harm to them.

Worse yet, do you further empower and amplify the hate by speaking it from your lips?

Hate is a very powerful and poisonous tool that the enemy uses to, in an instant, distance your walk from God. It becomes a heavy soul burden. It is not of the Spirit, and as mentioned in the verse above, the Spirit has no place in those who hate. Hate eats away at your heart, blackening it and hardening it. It makes you no different than an unbelieving citizen of the world.

But where God is, His light drives out the hate and heals your emotional wounds. The burning light of His truth will convict your heart to confess to the other person as well as to God, then repent and receive God’s forgiveness. And with that, your transformative return to the light begins.

When the Spirit abides in you, light and lightness come with Him. When hate abides in you, darkness and pain fester in you. Surrender it to the One whose love and grace is greater than any hate or burden.

This excellent Ray Stedman devotional expands on the subject:

Do you resort to the folly of trying to suppress it? Do you bite your lip and say nothing but go away with your heart burning, seething, miserable, and unhappy? You are still under the control of the evil one, and, sooner or later, he will take you farther than you want to go.

Read the whole devotional, and let God help you return to abiding in the Spirit.