The Purity of Hate by Rick Fry

What is the cost of following Jesus?

When we’ve allowed the image of God imprinted on our souls
to be disfigured by social and economic pressures,
by the fear and doubt we coddle in our hearts,
by the desire to be liked.
When those sharp jags and rough edges that make disciples
eventually become smoothed and rounded over time
by the steady drip of compromises we make in life to keep peace.
When the deadly burden of our possessions keep us isolated, deadened, and unhappy
and the injury and violation we allow to mar our souls becomes too awful to contemplate,
save us, O God.
Don’t let our souls harden in the dry shell of despair,
but let us feel the purity of hate-
for the compromises we make,
and for the fear and doubt,
and for what we allow to happen to us.
For this is not your will O Lord,
and it is right and salutary to hate that which disfigures the soul,
and keeps us from loving you with our whole hearts.
Let hatred cleanse our spirits,
but not devour us.
And when the costs are weighed and options considered,
give us the courage to place our crosses on our shoulders,
and follow you
wherever you lead in the strange colors of your wonder.
Help us find our way
as we slide our hands across strange walls,
and grope through the darkness
towards the fullness of life,
towards courage of faith and kindness of heart,
towards the love of God
which surpasses all understanding.
Help us find our way to the priceless joy
that comes through self-forgetting love
and forsaking all that we have for your sake.