Whoa! What a statement! How in a world so filled with division and racism and malicious words and cruelty could someone need MORE hatred? Who could possibly benefit from hatred?
I could. My name is Philip Wilson. I am a son of the eternal God. I am made in His image. I am the temple of the most holy being in existence. He is called the Holy Spirit. He is sweet like milk and honey. I want to be so filled with His presence. And, I need more hatred. Why?
Because I need my love to be genuine.
“Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.” (Romans 12:9)
This verse stood out to me recently. Paul is calling for the Romans to let their love be genuine. We cannot let our love be a formality! I think much of the Western Church and many Western-minded Christians have gotten into the mindset that love is simply charity. But I think that is an extremely dangerous mindset to hold. Charity should flow out from our abundant, supernatural love! Love is not a checklist but a realization of the identity of Christ in our minds and hearts. Is my love genuine? Am I on mission because I feel bad for people or because I love people? I desire for it to be because I genuinely love. Christ loved the whole world to the point of death. I am called to become like Christ, carry my cross, and love others. I need my love to be genuine.
As I thought about the character of my affection for others, I was pushed to question what may be holding me back from a tender heart. And the second part of the verse gave me my answer. I could not let my love be genuine until I totally, entirely abhorred what is evil. For those of you who may be still confused about why I need hatred, I want to make myself clear. I must never hate another person. Jesus is clear that it is the goal of a kingdom builder to love people above all else. Even if it gets us killed. But I cannot fully love others until I hate what is evil with my whole being.
I should hate that young women and children all over the world are being exploited for sex. I should hate that men and women of color have to live in fear when they are out and about in the “home of the brave and land of the free.” I should hate that the divorce rate is 50%. I should hate that people are homeless and looked down upon because of it. I should hate that children are growing up without fathers. I should hate that only 268 years of recorded history have been without war in the world. I should hate that anxiety and depression are so much more common in this generation than any other. And suicide is one of the most common means of death in this generation. Yet sometimes I shrug my shoulders because it doesn’t always affect me. Why do I not have seething anger about cancer? Because my love is not genuine.
You see, God had such a beautiful idea in mind when He created the earth. And now it is broken. Creation is riddled with all of these grievances that steal, kill, and destroy. But Haggo’el, God the Redeemer, has promised to restore all things- things in heaven and things on earth. (Ephesians 1:10) But you know what is amazing? In Exodus 22:1, God promises that what has been stolen away will be restored fourfold. So while His garden has been stolen away for some time, He has set in motion a plan to wipe away every tear and build an everlasting Kingdom established in love and it will be greater than the former! Jesus is coming back as the conquering King, the slain and slaughtered Lamb, overcoming evil with good.
And that leads to the last bit of the verse. “Hold fast to what is good.” While I personally may need to abhor evil more, some of you may need to remember this part. If we get so caught up in seeking justice, in the desire for righteousness to prevail, in the battle against the hordes of hell, we will be drowned in despair. This is our tether. This is the fuel for our righteous anger. Because we have tasted and seen the goodness of the Kingdom. We have experienced eternal life- knowing the Father and the Son. We love because He loved us.
I am still in this journey of purifying my heart. He is fanning the flames of my love. And as I see more glimpses of Heaven, I so desire to be living in it. Maranatha, Jesus. Come and redeem your creation! Until you come bodily, let my love be genuine. Until you come, I will go and prepare the harvest. Amen.
Also, I’m back in Guatemala!! Squad leading has been incredible. I’ll be updating y’all soon!
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well said my friend! Well said indeed!
Ps i miss you
As always, so articulate and well written Philip. Thanks for sharing! God bless your time in Guatemala. 🙂
in the words of our ever loving nana, this put fire under my butt! i see God’s heart in your words. Our Just Judge. thank you for writing this & loving with all abandon!
one of the best blogs i’ve read in a long time. loved this!! thanks for sharing 🙂
Philip thank you so much for sharing this! God is bringing me so much encouragement tonight through your words.
Dang. What a slick title. And it’s not totally clickbait lol. This speaks some really good life
The gospel. That deep gut wrenching love that’s so painful sometimes and so purposeful and pure and true and REAL. Thank you for your words this morning that helped focus my mind on the gospel!
philip! one of the reasons why I miss gap v so much is seeing the wisdom of the holy spirit so evident in the people around me. this was straight fire and really gave me some new perspective this morning. I have been diving into what righteous anger looks like and this gave me some encouragement in my fight to abhor evil. you’re awesome! and such a kingdom worker. endlessly proud of you and miss you so much!
I just attended my church on Thursday for the first time in a while, and the sermon was on justice. it has had me thinking about this recently. thanks for the perspective and wisdom. this is needed.
this is reallyyy good! praying over the squad in Guat!
this is good philip!! convicting, thought provoking, and full of truth. thank you for sharing! praying for favor over gap c and your time in guatemala!