Prejudice and God’s Love

<p>&ldquo;You&rsquo;re not what I expected. I thought I&rsquo;d hate you, but I don&rsquo;t.&rdquo; The young man&rsquo;s words seemed harsh, but they were actually an effort to be kind. I was studying abroad in his country, a land that decades earlier had been at war with my own. We were participating in a group discussion in class together, and I noticed he seemed distant. When I asked if I had offended him somehow, he responded &ldquo;Not at all . . . . And that&rsquo;s the thing. My grandfather was killed in that war, and I hated your people and your country for it. But now I see how much we have in common, and that surprises me. I don&rsquo;t see why we can&rsquo;t be friends.&rdquo;</p> <p>Prejudice is as old as the human race. Two millennia ago, when Nathaniel first heard about Jesus living in Nazareth, his bias was evident: &ldquo;Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?&rdquo; he asked (John 1:46). Nathaniel lived in the region of Galilee, like Jesus. He probably thought God&rsquo;s Messiah would come from another place; even other Galileans looked down on Nazareth because it seemed to be an unremarkable little village.</p> <p>This much is clear. Nathaniel&rsquo;s response didn&rsquo;t stop Jesus from loving him, and he was transformed as he became His disciple. &ldquo;You are the Son of God!&rdquo; Nathaniel later declared (John 1:49). There is no bias that can stand against God&rsquo;s transforming love.</p>