"Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, for My sake. (12) Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
Matthew 5:11-12 NKJV
How do you feel when people insult you for being a Christian? How do you take it when you find that people you trusted, are saying false things about you, behind your back? When I first became a Christian in 1980, I was a little rough round the edges and, not being out of the army very long I would always respond loudly to anyone who, 'Had a go at me.' When I first found people talking about me from the church, I wanted to punch their lights out. This was what I had been used to and I was ready. Fortunately, Jesus began a re-moulding job on me - which is still going on today, I can assure you. I have learnt, by verses such as above, that it is actually an opening for me to be blessed.
The whole meaning of 'Blessed', is to be happy. It possibly could be written as, 'Happy is the man who....'. God wants us to remain in a state of happiness and joy. Why? Well the amplified version of these verses give us a clue. Verse 12 says, 'Be glad and exceedingly joyful for your reward in heaven is great, (absolutely inexhaustible. Did you get that? God's blessings to us will be nothing less than absolutely inexhaustible. Now I don't know about you, but I want blessings like that. So insult me any way you want to Lol.
As Christians, people insult us because of our association with Jesus Christ. Just the mention of His name winds some people up. In some quarters, it's a conversation stopper. Others use the name of Jesus as a swear word. Many do not like Him, but why? Because He convicts them. He makes them see what they are really like and the guilt hits them like a meteorite. Just the mention of His name or your presence in front of them, freaks them out and they do almost anything to get away. And so, they revert to abuse towards the Christian person and church, which they normally use the word, 'religion'.
To be verbally abused, or reviled as the NKJV says, is hurtful, especially when it comes from a Christian brother or sister who you have respected and trusted. It is devastating and makes you feel, 'Who can I trust?' The sad thing is, we are not going to be able to stop it and as time goes on, it will get worse as we continue into the End Times. Therefore, we are going to have to be able to stand against this and receive all insults as a blessing. This is hard I know, but remember, Gods blessings to us will be nothing less than absolutely inexhaustible. What we do is learn to turn the abuse into a blessing; the insult into gems of glory; the hate into life and joy. You can do this because, Jesus Christ dwells within you and He will deal with the abusers, not you. You just keep your eyes on Him and receive that absolutely inexhaustible grace and blessing - that mercy (Hesed) and keep on, keeping on and then keeping on a little longer.
Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard
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