“Happy
are you when people insult you and harass you and speak all kinds of bad and
false things about you, all because of me.
Be full of joy and be glad, because you have a great reward in
heaven. In the same way, people harassed
the prophets who came before you.”
– Matthew 5:11-12 (CEB)
When
was the last time you were insulted or harassed because of your faith in
Christ? Was it yesterday? Last week?
Or was it so long ago that you can’t remember when? The prophets first, then Jesus, and then the
apostles, demonstrated what living a Godly life in this world full of darkness
will lead to. It leads to insults,
harassment, and persecution. Ultimately,
however, it leads to great rewards in heaven.
Jesus
ultimately was put to death because his message of the coming Kingdom was
offensive to the Jewish leaders.
Likewise, the apostles faced beatings, jail time, torture, and death all
for the “criminal offense” of preaching the gospel. We also can look to the prophets and how they
too suffered for God’s purposes. We know
that their reward is sure and it is a reward we are promised too!
We
are called by God to “live together in a manner worthy of Christ’s gospel”
(Philippians 1:27). If we are living
this way in a world full of corruption, darkness, evil, and sin, we will be
given the pure joy of suffering for the gospel.
We may suffer persecution with a joyful attitude because we have a great
reward waiting for us in heaven. This
week, live your life in a manner worthy of Christ’s gospel so that you may know
the joy of suffering disgrace for the sake of the name!
So much of what we experience as "suffering" is less about beatings these days, but more about plain and simple apathy and contempt for the message. Discouragement becomes a suffering that we can't sometimes seem to shake, and which the devil uses to keep us ineffective for the kingdom. Suffer through the mundane of Christian life and then we ready to suffer when it's more in-your-face.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great point! Suffering through the mundane of Christian life and through the discouragement that comes from taking a daily stand for Christ is great preparation for more difficult suffering.
DeleteWell said.
DeleteWhen we make statements about or references to our life with Christ, we often receive looks of confusion which quickly turn to looks of ridicule. Our gracious response to this form of suffering for Christ is likely to lead to open conversation and opportunity to explain the mystery that has been revealed to us. I don't think often enough about the privilege of suffering for Christ.
I think and hope that I control well the complaint level, but don't tend to view the suffering as a positive experience. Thanks for the reminder.