My freshman year at Whitworth I made friends easily. But there was one person, Greg, who did not like me. I couldn’t figure out why. How could he not like me? No matter how hard I tried to win him over it seemed to have the opposite effect. I finally stopped trying. 46 years later I still remember Greg. And, I still wonder why?
There are times when others just don’t get us. They assume things about us that are not true. They believe the worst about us. They attack us. Dislike us. Maybe it’s just me … nope!
Paul, the first century Christian leader, was the focal point for irrational anger. Not from one, or a few, but from a mob. They wanted him dead. His approach to such hatred … he told the story of how he met Jesus. The mob listened … for a while. And then they shouted, “he should not be allowed to live!” Tough crowd. Real life. Real faith.