"Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good." (Romans 12:9 NIV)
I've heard it said that hate is not the opposite of love; indifference is.
To me, this rings true. Love and hate invest emotion, time, energy, and commitment, but indifference withdraws. Love and hate press in close, but indifference stands off at a distance.
Of all the true things we can say about God, one, surely, is that He is not indifferent. He loves passionately and hates passionately.
We pull back a little from hate, perhaps, feeling it is an ugly word, but our Holy God hates what He hates because He loves whom He loves.
Sin, idolatry, injustice...these things God hates either harm those He loves or get in the way of relationship between Himself and His beloved.
As we begin to make our way back to the main road on our names of God journey, we glimpse in the distance the most passionate display of love and hate ever witnessed.
The final period in Jesus' earthly life that began with His triumphal entry into Jerusalem and ended with His crucifixion is referred to as "the Passion," from the Latin word "patior," meaning "suffer."
What passionate hate fed, passionate love starved.
What passionate hate birthed, passionate love put to death.
What passionate hate began, passionate love finished.
Indifference says, "I couldn't care less." But our God of Passion, in love that took on hate and won, says, "I couldn't care more, because I already care most."
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I'd love to hear from you! Feel free to tell me what you really think. Years ago, I explained to my then-two-year-old that my appointment with a counselor was "sort of like going to a doctor who will help me be a better mommy." Without blinking, she replied, "You'd better go every day." All of which is just to say I've spent some time in the school of brutal honesty!