The Thirteenth Verse

And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. Mark 13:13

At rare moments in the past six years or so, a landlord will call me and pass on a tale of woe. By way of warning other landlords, he or she will tell me of the thousands of dollars in woe accumulated by a tenant before escaping in the dark of night. The landlords are not usually quite so literary, but I like to add my personal touch to the picture. Now these tenants who do this sort of thing will be shunned by the other landlords and will eventually have to move away from the area or, and I have not heard of this yet, change their ways! Even these persons have their supporters though and are not hated by all. In this age of growing lawlessness, some will even cheer them on as they move somewhere else to continue their lawless ways. What sort of a person must it take to be hated by all? 

Our Lord tells us in the thirteenth verse of the thirteenth chapter of Mark. For the sake of the name of Jesus, anyone can join this excluded group of hated people. What a chance to be hated by all! Believe in Jesus, follow our Lord, and become a hated person? Our Lord Jesus did tell each and every person to count the cost of following Him, and as we can see this cost might seem steep. Are you shunned by anyone yet? Have a former friend who does not want to talk about that one particular subject who goes by the name of Jesus? Have you been excluded from a social media group for daring to mention the name of the Lord in a loving way and not in the deluge of vain repetitions? The hatred of this world grows by the day, and it only waits for the removal or pulling back of the restrainer God has put in place. 

Rejoice! You will soon be hated by all for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ! 

Bucky