Complimentary Story
March 2023“Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake.” (Matthew 5:10).
Persecution, in one form or another, is a part of the Christian’s life. People often do not like a true Christian because they expose the sins of those around them. So people watch for any reason possible to discredit them, despise them, or harass them. Some people can be persecuted because they are foreigners or a different race or they may be despised because of chosen perverted lifestyle. Persecution must be because we are righteous.
Jesus was the most righteous man that ever lived. His holy life was a continual exposure of the evils of humanity. Those who knew they were sinners were not as guilt stricken as those who professed to be the righteous ones. He exposed the hypocrisy of many and they hated Him and tried, in many ways, to discredit His holy conduct. Since Jesus was God, He knew what was in men’s hearts and He could speak to their hypocrisy before they opened their mouth. Jesus said this to His disciples: “Remember the word that I said unto you, the servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecutedMe, they will also persecute you; if they have kept My sayings, they will keep yours also.” (John 15:20).
American Christians, in many ways, have experienced an unusual amount of tolerance and respect. The US Constitution, early on, made provision for religious freedom. That freedom made us all somewhat soft on sin and evil flourished as well as religion. Satan has ways of distorting anything good. Today any type of evil is promoted in this land under the umbrella of “freedom” and many different types of evil are promoted and protected by those in authority. However God’s truth will not change. Unrepented sin brings judgment.
True Christians do not fight for rights. When people surrender to God they give up their right to live. They are willing to be persecuted and even killed if that is what God allows. Many have been the righteous who died for their faith rather than demand any rights. Most Christians in America have lived all their lives under a benevolent government and they are ill prepared to suffer what may be ahead for them in the future. Many different groups are arising that seem to despise anyone who lives by the commandments that Jesus gave us in His Word. True Christians cannot condone moral perversions that the Bible speaks against. This arouses the hatred of society. They are labeled with some very bad titles. True Christians do what the Apostles did. They rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. See Acts 5:41.
Jesus continued His blessing on those who are reviled, persecuted, falsely accused. He tells us to rejoice and be exceeding glad when we can suffer for His sake. (Matthew 5:11-12). We can discern who are God’s children and who are Satan’s. Those who follow Satan fight for their rights. They demand attention and respect. The followers of Jesus may make appeals to the state for consideration but they do not make demands. Christ’s kingdom is a kingdom of peace. This is no small difference. If we struggle with hatred against those who persecute us, we need to ask God to give us His Holy Spirit love.
Jesus promised blessings to those who are willing to suffer for righteousness’ sake. Many people suffer for many different reasons. Often it is for sins or wrong choices. The suffering we do for Jesus will bring blessings to our life.
God can use naturally caused suffering, or any kind of suffering to bless a Christian.
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