Jesus promised His trainee apostles that they would be hated and persecuted (John 15:18-21).  Such promises are not easy to take in, although those who love Jesus will accept His hard words as well as the pleasant ones (John 6:60-69).  Hatred is most difficult to bear when it comes from those who are closest to us (Luke 12:49-53).   We should instinctively think of our family as being the safe place, where love motivates each member to support and encourage the others.  That was God's idea for family life.  But when God is despised, all that He has designed becomes spoiled (Romans 8:19-22) and those who stand with Him are also despised.

Family security was shattered when mankind first rebelled against God (Genesis 3:1-10) and the next Bible narrative tells of Cain killing his brother Abel (Genesis 4:1-16).  That murder was fuelled by envy, knowing that God was pleased with Abel's offering, but not with Cain's.  Instead of accepting God's way, by repenting and doing what God would like, Cain demonstrated his hatred of God's authority by slaying his brother.

The persecution of the apostles, the early church, missionaries, and godly people through the centuries has the same root cause.  Refusal to accept God's authority becomes envy against God's loved people, just as Jesus’ death was the end-product of envy (Matthew 27:18).  That may be expressed in many ways from indifference, polite non-engagement or commitment to other faiths; to resentment, non-communication, actions which offend the Christian conscience, slander, violence and murder.  But the cause is the same.

The Christ-instructed and Christ-like reaction is to stand firm.  The apostles often repeated this command to the suffering churches (1 Corinthians 15:58; 2 Thessalonians 2:15).  Opposition is part of the devil's plan to stop us from following Jesus, but like Jesus we must decide not to be deflected.  After all, the Lord will keep us safe as long as He wants us to serve Him, and after that our eternity is assured (2 Thessalonians 3:3).  And also, our resolve to stand firm is evidence that we are trusting Jesus in the face of personal harassment - showing that we really do belong to His family, which can often intensify the jealousy of others, even those in our own human family.  So do not be discouraged but stand firm in Christ! (1 Peter 5:9)