Blessed Are Those Who Are Persecuted

Matthew 5:10 -12 “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.   Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. (12) Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

 I have no doubt that most if not all of us have gone through some ridicule in our life time.  There have been times that people have talked negatively about us, when we felt persecuted, and insulted by others.  Does that mean we are blessed?  When others do not agree with us and put us down are we to consider it persecution? 

As we look at the scripture we read  when we will be considered for this blessing.  It is in verse 12 and it says “because of me”.  How many times are we persecuted because of ourselves rather than because of our stand for Christ.  You may think that would be odd that when we do right things and good things for Christ that people would see that as evil.  You don’t have to look to far in scripture to see that it did and still does happen today.  Christ Himself suffered a cruel death on the cross due to this very thing.  There were some religious leaders that sought to rid Israel of Jesus.  They were afraid of Him and the power He displayed and they didn’t want Him around.  When we live a life of Christ, the same thing can happen to us.  But, sometimes we forget why we are doing what we are doing and we get frustrated when persecution comes our way because we seem to think it is about us, not about Him.  We also tend to think that if we are living a righteous (right-living) life that ever thing we be wonderful and that life will be perfect.  Jesus is very clear in these scriptures that this type of belief is incorrect. 

As I write this I have to think of persecuted Christians all over this world who are living a life for Christ in countries that do not approve of this belief.  Maybe they live in places that have a religion but it is not a Christian faith or maybe they live in a country where faith only in you is acceptable.  There are countries where imprisonment and even death occurs for a belief in Christ.  They may say the person is in prison for some other reason (false acquisition) but it is really because they proclaim Jesus as Lord, these are the types of acquisitions that this scripture is talking about.  Many times people will say negative things about us but unless it is for the cause of Christ I don’t think we can classify it as being persecuted.  My challenge for all of us is to consider the next time we are faced with negative comments to turn those moments into a time to bring God the glory.  Our reaction to the negativism should be one that would reflect the Glory of God and bring His message to those who have not heard or do not believe.

As you seek Him praise Him for the protection that He gives.  If you find yourself in a situation where you are truly being persecuted for your faith be sure to hold on because your reward awaits you.

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila