I remember a pastor had a plaque on his office wall years ago that said, “I would like it if you liked me, but it’s not mandatory.”

We simply want to be liked. We don’t want people responding in a “wrong way” toward us, or “taking us wrong,” or calling us things… like “bigots.” But… if we follow Christ, there is GOOD news, and there is BAD news.

The GOOD news: Jesus loves you. He’s crazy about you.

The BAD news: As much as you want everyone else to like you, it just may not happen.

So, what’s important?

In John 15, it’s pretty clear: it’s loving Jesus. And then it’s understanding that not everyone else in the world will be crazy about that.

¹⁸ “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. ¹⁹ 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.²⁰ Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. (NIV)

We don’t need to be obnoxious. It’s just that sometimes when we radically follow Jesus, others won’t necessarily understand or like it. 

But the GOOD news: We’re really becoming like Jesus when that happens.

It also means we have the power to keep on loving those who keep on not liking us. It will drive them crazy. And that can be fun.