“Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of God. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Matt. 5:11-12
When one is radically saved, and changes from the inside out, it is natural (as we said last time) to share with others the good news that means so much to you. Inevitably, though, this leads to persecution, and enduring persecution is probably one of the highest benchmarks of Christian maturity. Persecution is one of those words that are vague and it can range from insults (as Jesus said) to pain, imprisonment, and even death. Yet, He calls it a blessing. He calls it a blessing because of three things; it means we are in the Kingdom, it means we have a great reward awaiting us, and it means we are in pretty good company (the prophets, and even Jesus Himself).
However, it likely doesn’t feel like much of a blessing in the moment. One of my favorite verses in all of Scripture is Phil. 1:29, “For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake.” In the same way that our very faith… even our very salvation… is a gift from God, so also suffering is a love gift from Him as well. When we think about the gifts of God we often don’t typically include suffering on the list, but it is. I don’t have space to delineate all the reasons why God gives us the gift of suffering (that is another devotion!) but, suffice it to say, that it too is a gift from God and we must embrace it instead of doing all we can to run away from it.
This leads me to think about the people we work with. If they are going to take their stand for Jesus amid a dark culture, they will suffer persecution. You can count on it. This is a blessing for them and us; although it is painful and difficult to watch. Oswald Chambers said, “If we obey God, it is going to cost other people more than it costs us, and that is where the pain begins.” Don’t apologize for that; and be careful how you shield them. “Blessed are those who have been persecuted”… “it has been granted to you to suffer”… these are the high and holy things of God and we must make sure that our good intentions don’t get in His way when He wants to do an unusual work in someone’s life.
Here me carefully; I am not saying we should foolishly endanger our brethren or that we shouldn’t care when people suffer for righteousness sake. I am saying that real disciples are willing to face whatever comes, and pay whatever price needs to be paid so that the Kingdom is advanced and Jesus is glorified. In all things, let’s expect the very best from those we minister to, and let’s hold them to the same high standards to which God holds us. In Christ, they are capable of more than we can ever imagine.
