"Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you, and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of Man's sake. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, for in like manner their fathers did to the prophets." Luke 6:22-23 (Read Luke 6:20-26)
It's troubling sometimes when people speak against us and ridicule us for our beliefs and faith in Christ Jesus. No one likes to hear others -- and sometimes even those who are close to us -- call us names for insisting on a literal interpretation of the Bible's teachings, for condemning as sin what the world says is acceptable, for saying that there is only one way to heaven -- through repentance and faith in Christ Jesus.
It hurts when friends or family members criticize us for our beliefs or for the church we attend, but listen to what Jesus tells us: "Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you, and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of Man's sake. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, for in like manner their fathers did to the prophets."
In fact, if everyone loves us and speaks well of us, it ought to give us cause to examine ourselves, our beliefs and our lives, for Jesus also said: "Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets" (v. 26). If the world loves us, chances are good we are not testifying against the evils in this world and are not calling upon all to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and Him alone, for salvation.
Jesus suffered hatred and persecution from the world and especially from the religious rulers of His own people. Should we expect any better as His followers?
But when we are hated, ridiculed and even persecuted for our faith in Christ, we can rejoice. Why? Because we have rich reward in heaven -- not for anything we have done but because of what Christ has done for us when He fulfilled all righteousness in our stead and then suffered and died upon the cross to pay in full the just punishment for our sins and the sins of the whole world.
O Dear Lord Jesus, grant us the strength and courage to follow You and hold fast to Your Word, even when it brings hatred, ridicule and persecution. Grant that we might remain faithful unto death and receive the crown of life You won for us by the shedding of Your holy and precious blood upon the cross for our sins. Amen.
[Devotion by Randy Moll. Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]
Editorial on 03/16/2016