By David ReayWednesday 28 Oct 2015LifeWords DevotionalsFaithReading Time: 0 minutes
Transcript:
Read Matthew 5:10-12
10 God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right,
for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
11 “God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. 12 Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way. (NLT)
Let’s first of all make it clear that Jesus isn’t saying that any time we come under attack we must be doing the right thing and can be delighted about it. Being persecuted may be an indication of the fact that we are acting or speaking inappropriately. Christians can, after all, bring persecution on themselves. They can become angry political partisans, morally superior hypocrites, anti-intellectual simpletons. And so we can open ourselves up to attack.
Jesus is speaking of something very different. He is saying that even when we speak out graciously, even when we seek to live Christ-like lives, we may be attacked. After all, darkness hates the light and those who humbly live in the light may expect opposition. We look no further than Jesus for proof of that.
He is telling us that if we cop flak for simply being a follower of Jesus, we can expect blessing from God. Even as we encounter rejection on earth, we can be sure of acceptance in heaven. To repeat, this is not saying that any or all opposition we face is because we are godly: it might be because we are mere pains in the neck. But if we are attacked for simply following the light of the world, don’t be surprised if those who love darkness have a go at us. We are in very good company.
Blessings
David Reay