"Blessed (morally courageous and spiritually alive with joy in God's goodness) are you when people hate you and exclude you (from their fellowship) and insult you and scorn your name as evil because of your association with) the Son of man.
Luke 6:22 Amplified Study Bible
When you choose Jesus, in some circles, you will be hated and excluded from people's company. Some may even lose jobs or be penalised because of their faith in their work place. When we identify with Jesus, we will be rejected and may suffer hardships. Take a look at Christians in parts of China, Russia and North Korea to gain an example what some believers are going through. However, this is the cost of following Jesus.
Some people may even suffer rejection from their families. You may have undergone this type of behaviour. When my family knew that I may be going to bible college, there was an uproar and a couple of them said, 'We don't want a vicar in our family.) I had no intention of being one at the time but I had to suffer the pain and cost of it all.
During WW1 and WW2, soldiers on guard duty had a phrase which they uttered if someone came into their presence, 'Stand and deliver, friend or foe,' and when you think about it, being a believer can be similar to this type of behaviour with some people. When soldiers were 'dug in' the trenches or on the rifle range, there was a parapet and if one were to raise their head above this, they were in danger of being shot. A parapet is an earthen bank or stone embankment protecting the soldiers from enemy fire. In a way, there is little difference today in certain quarters. We can feel that they are thinking, 'Friend or Foe,' and we may get shot at.
You may never have come up against this type of thing. But keep putting Jesus first and you soon will. You see, the devil doesn't like you, so he will turn people against you, causing them to hate and reject you, call you rude names and as I've mentioned, in certain non-believing countries, suffer imprisonment or death because of your faith. Fellowship with God leads to hostility from the world. When I was working as a social worker, I was threatened with losing my job if I spoke about Jesus. Yes, I was forbidden to speak about Him. I still did but I went undercover from thereon - covert operations. 😉
You see, when we say Yes to Jesus; when we allow Him to 'set us apart', the flak can begin at anytime. But we need to let the Holy Spirit have dominion over us in our home, our family, our work place, in the words that we speak, our emotions and in every thought that enters our mind. He needs to have entire possession of us.
When you do, it will cost but it is well worth it in the end. After all, who else will show the unbelievers Jesus?
Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard
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