Blessed are ye, when [men] shall revile you, and persecute [you], and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great [is] your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you – Matthew 5:11-12
For many western Christians the idea of persecution is a foreign concept. We cannot relate to the persecution the early church suffered at the hands of the Roman Empire. We have a hard time identifying with martyrs that were tortured and brutally murdered because they would not renounce the name of Christ. For many of us the extent of our persecution goes no further than a couple of off color jokes and the occasional quip about how hypocritical the church is and that religion is the bastion for the intellectually weak and easily duped masses. Those of us blessed enough to call the United States of American home enjoy the liberty afforded us by the First Amendment of the Constitution; Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. Especially for those of us born post-Civil War, we have never had to worry about the government imprisoning us because we held a religious service during which the name of Jesus was worshiped. We may have had to suffer persecution from the government for other things, perhaps being an immigrant, former slave, woman, born with a disability, but worshipping Jesus has never been a crime in this country. Yet persecution is assured us so long as we continue to lift of the name of the king of kings and the lord of lords. Christ is very clear in this regard, not only will persecution come, but in fact we should expect it and celebrate it because Heaven looks down and rejoices when the enemies of God attack us on account of our belief in Christ. Paul said it this way in his letter to the Philippians; That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death (Philippians 3:10).
We are more than conquerors today because though we may suffer as the body of Christ; our suffering brings Christ more glory. You may never face the threat of death for your beliefs; you may never be imprisoned, tortured or abandoned because you worship the Lord Jesus, but then again you may. Our ancestors in the faith, the prophets and believers of old suffered great affliction on behalf of the gospel and we must ready our hearts to bear similar affliction. It may not come in the form of a death squad, but we may have to stand strong in the face of overwhelming public sentiment that goes against what we know is right. We may never be threatened with prison, but we may have to suffer in isolation and restricted opportunities because we are not willing to cut corners or shame our God. In whatever form the persecution comes, know this that it will come and that when it does our Heavenly Father and the great hosts of angels will be watching to see us triumphantly bear the persecution just as those that came before us; For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain.
