“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you
and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.” (Matthew
5:11)
The first question I would like to take up today
is whether Jesus’s words about persecution are relevant in these days. My answer is that these verses are very
relevant and not at all outdated.
Justice is a popular idea that is ringing throughout our
world. We cry for justice as genocide
rages and as governments punish their citizens. From our perspective in the trenches of living
the Christian life, we expect that Jesus will reward our service with
protection against the evil forces of the world.
It’s challenging to realize that Jesus blessed the
persecuted without promising any relief in this life. In fact, instead of deliverance, He made
persecution seem like a normal part of what it would take to follow Him. That is a scary thought for us; those who have
become accustomed to a relatively pain-free lifestyle.
Sometimes we misinterpret our suffering as enduring pain
for Christ when all we are really suffering is the pain of our own bad choices
and misbehavior. So we must be careful that
we do not count ourselves blessed until we are sure that our pain is on account
of faithful service to Jesus. But once
we see that we are suffering for our Lord, we should also take care that we do
not water down the gospel.
All of us are prone to avoid conflict, and it is all too
easy to try and make the gospel’s content less offensive to a fallen world. But if we do this, we deny our Savior and risk
forfeiting our blessing. In Luke 12:8–9
Jesus tells us, “…whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also
acknowledge him before the angels of God. But he who disowns me before men will
be disowned before the angels of God.”
As we seek to reach out and be the hands and feet of
Jesus, we hope that God will give us opportunities without having to suffer to
see them completed. The reality is that
as we reach out we will be insulted, disgraced, despised and hurt.
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