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. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your
reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were
before you. (Matthew 5:10-12)
We as the church need to think about
this. Paul said in 2 Timothy 3:12, “In fact, everyone who wants to
live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” The operative word is “will.” What
does “will” mean? If we promise that we will do something, then we are expected
to do it. If we are driving toward a brick building and do not apply the
brakes, the law of dynamics states that we will crash into it. There is no
other way out.
To me, 2 Timothy 3:12 sounds like a
spiritual law: “Everyone who desires to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will
be persecuted.” Note there are no “ifs” or “maybes.” The question that bothered
me was why many Christians appear not to be persecuted. This led me to a few
more questions:
1. What is a
godly life that leads to being persecuted?
2. What do godly Christians do that causes them
to be persecuted? What causes the world to hate Christians so much that they
desire to persecute them?
3. What
is persecution and who does it?
What is a godly life that leads to being persecuted?
What is holiness? Holiness and godly
life are synonymous. Godly or holy people live a life separated for God, put
aside for His purposes, doing His bidding only. A godly person does not have
much time and energy left for worldly desires, materialism, and
self-importance.
Have you realized how much time we
spend keeping up our standards of living and maintaining our image? It does not
leave us much time to do God's bidding.
What is God's bidding? It is to do Jesus'
commands—all of them, to the letter—including some from the Old Testament. What
percentage of His commands do we obey on a daily basis? Are we His witnesses?
Do we give, do we walk the second mile, do we lend without expecting back, do
we preach the gospel in and out of season? Do we pray without ceasing, do we
love our neighbor as we love ourselves, do we worry, and do we exercise our
gifts and use our talents? We need to read the gospels and not forget that the
epistles are also indirectly Jesus’ commands, since He inspired the writers.
A godly life means that the enemy,
Satan, is going to hate you as much as he hates God. Imagine this creature who
thought he was close to being the ruler of the universe, only one step away
from replacing God on His throne. He was taken by the collar and thrown, like a
dog, right out of that Kingdom which he thought was almost his. His humiliation
and disillusionment are good reasons to hate.
Ever since then, he has been like a
strong-willed animal forced to submit to the One who rid him of his
self-esteem, glory, and self-respect. There he was, mumbling and grumbling,
hating God as well as those whom God has given authority over him. Moreover, if
Satan hates people who are like God, those who are like Satan will also hate
godly people. Satan instigates his people to persecute those he hates. To be continued.
For children and adults who are prepared to learn in a childlike way.
For children and adults who are prepared to learn in a childlike way.
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