Blessed are those who are persecuted.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:10

Jesus said that in this world we will be persecuted. He said that if we share in His suffering we will also share in His glory. We can not expect to share in His glory without sharing in His suffering. In 1 Peter 4 it says:

“Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.” 1 Peter 4:12-14

Jesus goes on to say in Matthew 5 that they also treated the prophets in like manner. Many people who do not know God don’t want to hear about it because like is says in John 3:19 that light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. They do not want their deeds to be exposed. I was the same way, I believed that I was a good person and that there was no reason for me to become one of those “Jesus Freaks” because I didn’t understand what they stood for. I persecuted them just as Paul did—maybe not as fervently or vehemently--but calling them names and ridiculing them. I thought that I knew better than they did. Praise God that He met me in the midst of my confusion and opened my eyes. I was blind but now I see, I was lost but now I am found. Paul also had a miraculous revelation on the road to Damascus where he was going to persecute the Christians of that town. The Lord then turned his life around and made his ministry to the gentiles and the rest is history. It truly is amazing how God works. He does not think like us at all, does He?

The fact is that all of us were rescued out of our darkness and brought into his glorious light. We who were once in darkness have been exposed to His transforming power and miraculous love. We should not expect to escape from being persecuted if Jesus was nailed to the cross for simply loving us. I have heard it said that hurt people hurt people. They do not understand the message of the cross and so they respond with anger and resentment. This is because their hearts are still under the control of the enemy. All of Jesus’s disciples went to their deaths proclaiming the gospel of Christ except John. They considered it an honor to share in His suffering because their master had suffered the same fate. Jesus suffered for us because of His incredible love. If we suffer for doing good, then we should rejoice. Like it goes on to say in Matthew 5:

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Matthew 5:11

If we are persecuted for doing good, praise God. This is a badge of honor, but we should make sure that we are doing good. We cannot expect people to respect us if we are not walking in the light. We need to make sure that the actions that we demonstrate to the people around us are the fruit of the Spirit of God. We need to be the salt of the earth. Remember that if the salt loses its saltiness it is no longer good for anything. He wants us to be the light of the world, but we need to be lighting that light in our hearts and fan the flames so that it will burn out all the dross that is in us. We need to have hearts of flesh so that God can work His works in us. Beloved of God let us be transformed into Children of light so that we can shine forth the Good news of Jesus. Paul says in Romans 12:1-2 that we should be transformed by the renewing of our minds that we may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. It is only by our surrender to Him that we can be used for His glory to bring healing and restoration to this world around us. God Bless you.