“Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great.” (Matthew 5:11-12)
It’s easy to justify a complaint about being maligned for following Jesus’ instruction to preach the gospel. It’s also easy to justify violence against persecutors and “enemies” of God. They started it. But the thing is, the word of God gives us a heads-up about all of these. It says everyone who wishes to live a godly life will be persecuted. It also says our Messiah gave His back to smiters, His cheek to those who pluck the beard, and His life to unworthy beneficiaries, and He forgave them. And we are commanded to follow His lead as those who bear the name Christian.But far from it being just a command, Jesus wants us to discover the joy of suffering for His name because the reward is that we become legitimate sons of His kingdom. So it’s not about suffering per se; it’s about being conformed the image of our King.
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