"they hated me first" aka "don't take it personal"

John 15:18-19 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.

To bring truth into darkness either produces one of two things. Either humility, repentance, and faith, or hatred, attack, and destruction. Jesus reminds, "If the world hates you" begins with an "if" to remind us that it is possible that as those that carry light into darkness, there are times that the light will be received, welcomed, embraced. Yet it hangs at times as a big "if"

The opposite is also possible. The light, shining acutely on the darkness, often exposing what is being purposefully hidden (either because of it's grotesque nature or it's clear idolatrous reality), causes such a deep resistance and attack from an individual, that the only clear explanation is that, in brining light into that darkness, just the presence of the light itself, is exposing and threatening the very core of that persons existence and identity.

Challenging someones perception of themselves ( their functional identity) is dangerous business, but it is exactly the nature of the light (truth) to do so. That is why even questioning someone is taken as an accusation. When this happens, most certainly the light has exposed a nerve ending, and some form of response will ensue, usually combative, always painful.

The difficult thing about such interactions is to remember that the light (truth) is the source of conviction and exposure, not you the carrier of the light. That is why Jesus comforts his disciples reminding them that they hated him first. What makes this so difficult to remember in real time is that the person on which the light is falling, rarely sees beyond the agent of delivery, simplifying the situation to a "me vs. you", and unable to perceive the gift of the light for what it is. It is only seen as attack, personal vendetta, who wins (?).

This passage is clear. If you carry the light into darkness, you will be received or hated. Both are to be expected as possible. And the real tension for the agent of light? Will the potential response dictate the willingness to bring the light. Fear of possibilities, though real, can and should never have the final say.

Hard huh. But it's not personal. It's only personal, if you cease to look to the light you bear.