Wronged for the Right Reason
“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Before I became a Christian, I was always the one mocking others. So to suddenly become the one who was laughed at because of what I believed, to see people treat me differently when they found out I was a Christian—that wasn’t easy.
But this will happen if you decide to follow Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 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). The good news is that you are in good company.
We are so quick to quote the promises of God for His healing, protection, or provision. But when is the last time you heard someone praying, “Lord, You promised that all who live godly in You will be persecuted. Lord, I claim that promise”? Who would want to be persecuted?
If you are a true believer, then persecution will not uproot you, but strengthen you. It will strengthen you in your resolve to walk with Christ. I believe God will give us the strength to face persecution, should it come to us. But are we willing to make a stand for Christ?
Some people who claim to be Christians, however, are persecuted not because they are living godly lives, but because they are obnoxious and pushy. They don’t know how to share God’s Word in a loving, compassionate manner. They come off as condescending, pompous, and arrogant.
Let’s be persecuted for the right reasons. Let’s be persecuted because we are like Jesus Christ and reflect Him to a lost world.
For more relevant and biblical teaching from Pastor Greg Laurie, go to www.harvest.org.
Copyright © 2006 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Bible text from the New King James Version is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Attn: Bible Rights and Permissions, P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214-1000.