Bad News . . . Good News
Jan. 21,2013
http://getmorestrength.org
“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me." Matthew 5:11
Today our dose of daily strength comes from Matthew 5:11,
when Jesus gave a “good news . . . bad news” announcement to His
disciples. First the bad news: They could expect to be slandered,
maligned, and persecuted for their identity with Him. Two thousand years
of church history have proven those words to be dead-on accurate.
As
a Christian growing up in the West, I have not experienced the
excruciating level of persecution faced by scores of saints living for
Christ in places like China, the Sudan, Bangladesh, Vietnam, and other
hot spots of blatant opposition to the gospel. The growing hostility of
Islam only promises to increase the body count. So I hate to even begin
to compare myself to them except to say that on a much smaller scale we
all face the distinct possibility of being misunderstood, maligned, and
ostracized for standing up for Jesus in a day when He and His claims are
becoming increasingly unpopular.
I woke up to this reality early
on in my life. Our church was hosting an evangelistic service—a “bring
all your unsaved friends to hear the gospel” kind of revival meeting.
Wanting to join the cause, I got up the courage to ask one of my high
school buddies to come, hoping that he would give his life to Christ
that night. I remember being disappointed when he sat quietly through
the service and stayed glued to his seat during the invitation.
The
next day I walked past him as he was hanging out with a group of
popular athletes. As I waved, he elbowed the guys and chided, “Hey, Joe
took me to his church last night hoping that I would get saved. I guess
he thinks I’m going to hell!” They all thought that was hilariously
funny while I sheepishly made my way to class. It was my first taste of
being in trouble for Jesus’ sake.
Businessmen who on company trips
quietly stand for Jesus by not joining the other guys for an evening at
the “gentleman’s club” know how uncomfortable it is to be looked on as
being weird and not a part of the gang. College students who are
ridiculed in class for daring to be a proponent of creation or
intelligent design know what Jesus was talking about in this passage.
And most of us have seen the raised eyebrow of a friend when we have
mentioned that Jesus is the only way to God.
We are caught in the
crossfire of two civilizations. Jesus proved how real the crossfire was
when He went to the cross as a maligned, unwanted, falsely accused
criminal.
But here’s the good news: Jesus promises that we are
“blessed” when we are persecuted for His sake. As He said, “Great is
your reward in heaven.”
Blessed? Rewarded? No one feels blessed or
rewarded when they are marginalized or, much worse, martyred. Unless,
that is, you believe that this is not the only world you have. Temporary
trouble here is put into perspective by the assurance that there will
be eternal rewards in the world to come. Give me a choice between
collapsing to the intimidation here and facing Jesus as a traitor to His
cause or of being maligned here and welcomed as a loyal warrior in
heaven, and I’ll stick up for Jesus every time.
And, when you are
tempted to fold under the pressure, remember that the day is coming when
“at the name of Jesus every knee should bow . . . and every tongue
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11).
So, next time you feel the press of the warfare, chin up! Great is your reward in heaven.
YOUR JOURNEY…
- What challenges have you faced for sticking up for Jesus in your world? What challenges have you faced for obeying Him? What could you do to keep in mind that this world is not only temporary but also hostile to Jesus and that we need to live here in the light of the world to come?
- In what specific ways does the promise of Jesus in this passage change your attitude toward suffering for Jesus if that becomes necessary?
- For additional perspective, take some time today to read real-life, real-time stories of Christians facing serious persecution around the world. Check out the Voice of the Martyrs at www.persecution.com.
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