The Blessing of Persecution?

“Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.” (Matthew 5:11, NASB).

Being persecuted for what we believe as a Christian is never easy. Yet this is a part of what it means to follow Christ. It should not surprise us when people speak evil of us, insult us, and belittle us for living Christ. What's more interesting is the fact Jesus says such people are "blessed." More about that later. The Apostle Paul echoes Jesus’ words in today’s text, when he wrote: “Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” (2 Tim. 3:12, NASB). Do you ever wonder why you don’t suffer persecution for the name of Christ, or that you really don’t see fellow Christians suffering for the name of Christ? The answer is this, because we are really not living Christ before a godless world. Our problem is we have become too comfortable, complacent, and worldly in this present evil world. We are supposed to be salt and light to a world of perishing sinners. Yet, we live our lives as though we don’t know God, nor the need all around us. Are we really loving our neighbors by remaining silent? Noted revivalist writer, Leonard Ravenhill wrote: “The early Church was married to Poverty, Prisons, and Persecutions. Today, “The Church” is married to Prosperity, Personality, and Popularity.” This quote is definitely an accurate description of today’s Church. We are too busy compromising our faith to be popular in the world, rather than stand for God’s truth and suffer persecution. If the truth be told, we as the Church are more married to the world then we are to Christ! I came across a quote recently that said this, “A man who won’t die for something, isn’t fit to live”—Martin Luther King Jr. The fear of death is a snare, the Christian martyrs of old knew this. So they learned to die to themselves first until they feared disobeying God more than they feared death. It is when the fear of death loses its hold on us that we find the freedom to really live for Christ. Just as the blood of Christ gave birth to the Church, so the blood of the martyrs from the past and the present was and still is the seed of the Church. As mentioned earlier, such Christians who are persecuted for their faith in Christ are "blessed." First, they are blessed in sharing in the sufferings of Christ (see Phil. 3:10). Second, they are blessed in that such persecution reveals whether they are truly identifying with Christ or the world (see 1 John 2:15). Third, they are blessed in that such persecution has a way of testing our true motives in following Christ. Are we in it for Christ, or ourselves?

Lord, we know the fear of man is a snare to our soul, just as the fear of death is. Lord, help us to settle the matter forever about fearing persecution for your name. Help us to count it our privilege to suffer persecution for your honor and glory. In Christ’s name. Amen.