Who should the church welcome? Everyone. That is the self-evident answer. However, it is not so simple. Why should she welcome the outcast and receive her persecutors into her midst (Gal 1:23-24)? Jesus especially welcomed and loved the outcasts of society. Those whom He recognized as needing His service as the physician of souls, He called into His presence and offered that renewal of perfect fellowship which had been broken by Adam and Eve in the Garden. He ate together with those who had been degraded through the eating of what God had forbidden. By so doing He created a new and greater fruit by being lifted upon the tree of life. Now we, who were decayed by eating the fruit, become the treasured fruit of His recreation of Eden. The tree of life buds with luxurious abundance in the midst of the church. He brought healing to those who hated even the one who brought them the medicine of immortality.

The Lord Jesus not only loved and called the outcasts, but also those who hated Him. Their hatred was characteristic of their decayed condition. Because they hated Him they hated others and were hated by them in return. None of this deterred His compassionate outreach. He loved them all the more, so that He died even and especially for those who hated Him. He was determined to turn back their hatred by His unaccountable love. The physician of souls was willing to transfuse them with His life blood, even though that transfusion brought Him certain death, sucking the life out of Him at the cross. He would not hate those who hated Him but gave Himself over to their will, and in so doing loved them. This is God's way; to love those who hate Him. Jesus tells us that even pagans will love those who love them. Loving those who hate is another thing entirely. It reminds me of the bumper sticker that said, "Mean People Suck." This is a classic oxymoron. Only mean people say that others "suck." We respond to bad behavior with bad behavior, anger with anger, hatred for hatred. Jesus does not. He does exactly the opposite.  He loves those who are bad, angry, and seething with hatred; even and especially against Him.

This is the way it must be, because if it were not the church would cease to exist. She welcomes those who hate her, loves those persecute her, and prays for those who despise her, because the church's children have all experienced that same love. All of us have been called into the community of love, despite our hatred of Him. He has so unaccountably welcomed us that we cannot do otherwise than welcome those who persecute us and love those who hate us. Loving in return for hatred will certainly do one thing; it will increase the love in the world, make hatred harder to maintain, and will bring glory to God in Christ. Hate me if you like, but I won't stop loving you.