IF THE WORLD HATES YOU

In the Gospel of John, on that fateful night He was betrayed by Judas, Jesus spent a good amount of time preparing His disciples for His departure. A key aspect of that preparation was a warning that the world is going to HATE them. 

I wonder what the modern progressive churches do with that warning. They seem to place the highest importance on the church's acceptance by the culture around them. The last thing they would want to do is to cause offense. 

In the coming split among Methodists, those retaining the (ironic) name of United Methodists are the more progressive types while those forming the new Global Methodist Church are the more conservative. 

I have heard many of the United Methodists warning the Global Methodists that they will be reviled by the world. 

I don't doubt it's true. But does that mean they are on the wrong track ... or on the right track?

"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." (John 15:18-19)