Here’s an obvious statement: followers of Jesus love God and hate sin. That’s something with which I think all believers would agree. Now for a maybe not so obvious question: “If it’s true we love God and hate sin, why don’t we live like it is true?” To love God and hate sin is easy for us to say. Demonstrating it on a consistent basis gets a bit dicey. We sometimes demonstrate our love for God, just as we occasionally demonstrate our hatred for sin. Until we reach a point where we regularly demonstrate these two truths in our everyday lives, it may be fair to question whether or not we are true disciples of Jesus.
True love is consistently demonstrated, or soon that love will die either by our choice (conscious or not), or by the object of our love. No one wants to be loved occasionally. We all crave love that is unconditional and never failing. What if you demonstrated your love for your spouse with the same regularity that you demonstrate your love for God? Based on the number of advertisements I see for divorce attorneys, perhaps we already love them with the same intensity with which we love God. When you love someone, there is nothing you wouldn’t do for them. You can’t stand to be away from them. Your favorite moments are those spent together. Is that the way in which we love God?
The same is true for something we hate. You don’t hate something or someone one day and become indifferent towards it the next. Hate is a strong emotion. When you hate something you can’t stand to have it in your presence. You are outraged that it dares to even cross your path in life. We’re not talking about someone or something you don’t like; we’re talking about someone or something that you actually loathe. You want no part of it or them, and you’ll do anything to get them out of your life. When was the last time we treated sin in this manner?
To love God and hate sin requires a radical change in the way we are accustomed to living. We need to ask God to help our love for Him grow so strong that it overpowers our desire to sin. If we loved God the way He loves us, we would never want to do anything that disappointed Him. If we hated sin the way He hates sin, we would be repulsed by it rather than intrigued.
Do you really love God? Do you really hate sin? What proof does your life offer to support your declaration? We need followers of Jesus who will love Him with the same intensity with which He loves us. We need disciples who will recoil from the very notion of sin. This has to start with each one of us. We have to start living this way and stop playing at this thing called Christianity. Enough is enough. How serious are we willing to get about our commitment to Jesus Christ? Are we willing to say with all sincerity that we love God and hate sin?