“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:10, NKJV)
We are truly living in volatile and unsettling times from numerous perspectives. Questions are being asked … thoughts are being formed … contingency plans are in the process of being formulated.
How do we talk with our children about the troubling times and help to prepare them … how do we calm our own anxious hearts?
Thoughts … words like … “persecution” … “courage” … “suffering” … and yes, even “dying!”
These are not thoughts … they are not words … that conjure up a smile, laughter, or even comfort! Yet, all of these words appear frequently in God’s Book … and they do so for a reason.
It could never be said that Jesus was less than truthful about everything He ever said or did … but the point we wish to highlight is those teachings had direct bearing on choosing to follow Him or not.
He did not hold back when it came to expressing the factors needed to “count the cost” of following Him. It was not His desire to in any way sugarcoat the realities of being one of His disciples, nor should we when we engage others when seeking to lead them to Jesus.
Regardless if men choose to accept its precepts, statutes, and testimonies … we know it is the road map that will lead us to an eternal life with Him and His Son and all the faithful of the past!
Consider this: When we choose by our own volition … by our own will to “… take up our cross and follow Jesus …” things are going to be changing. Friends and family will notice the changes taking place in how you might talk … act … live your life on a daily basis … and the obvious choices you make of good over evil. So … when the time comes … to stand and be counted or to sit and be silent … what will you choose?
Immediately after speaking what is probably the most familiar words of the Bible in John 3:16 … Jesus spoke the following words: “For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” (John 3:20-21, ESV)
Jesus is saying that one of two responses or reactions is going to take place when you are striving to please God and they are clearly opposites.
The first response is one that can be very challenging … they do not like the light and in fact reject the acceptance of it and those who do accept it!
The second response is so much better and one that we would always hope to see and experience … when they observe the “light” they are influenced to accept its contents and the blessings that accompany it!
Ladies and Gentlemen, brothers and sisters in Christ … these words spoken by our Lord are giving us a preview … a peak … a glimpse into the unkind disposition of those who serve the god of this world rather than the God who is our Creator, Provider, and Sovereign Lord!
To be clear … the faithful will be opposed, mistreated … and yes, persecuted for serving Jesus Christ! The faithful of God can expect rejection, and threats not only being issued, but carried out … because when pressed by the world to condone, accept, and even practice the ungodliness seen in the world around us (1 Peter 4:4, 16), we say No!
It was Dietrich Bonhoeffer, German theologian and martyr in WWII who said, “Christianity preaches the infinite worth of that which is seemingly worthless and the infinite worthlessness of that which is seemingly so valued.”
It was Jesus Christ who asked, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26, ESV)
Regardless of how intolerant or even obstinate our culture is to God … our God is still alive!
Regardless of how disrespectful the world may treat His inspired word … it is still “living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword …” (Hebrews 4:12)
Regardless of how the world may look with disdain on those of us who espouse God’s Book … the Bible will remain “… the lamp unto our feet and the light unto our path” … and we will exclaim to any and all within the sound of our voice “Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day.” (Psalm 119:97, 105)
There is a great conflict going on even as we speak. The world is at war with God and the “ruler of this world,” Satan, is behind every effort to remove God from our vocabularies and our minds. He is behind every effort to discredit God’s Book as old, not relevant, and useless in this present age. Like it or not.
Ask God to help you to have the faith, strength and courage that He can give to make the choices in life that will please Him because there will come a time when each of us will need to be as the lion spoken of in this passage …
“… But the righteous are bold as a lion.” (Proverbs 28:1)
Bill Fairchild, Jr.
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