“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.” – Matthew 5:11
The other day, we reflected on how we should not be afraid to stand before the light because we are now saved and we live now according to the truth. Now, we get to reflect on Jesus’ teachings and the reminder, after He said the beatitudes. He said, “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.” Christ was referring to the people who are persecuted because of Him, not the people who are persecuted because they do something bad. After all, we deserve it, for we are sinful.
However, Christ encourages us and comforts us with this verse saying that we are blessed if we are insulted, persecuted, and accused of evil things because of Him. The world hates Christ, and if the world sees that we have Christ in us through our lifestyle, they will be hated too. So, we have to understand that we may be hated by the world. We will be persecuted and insulted because of the God we serve. However, Christ has blessed us and has secured our hearts and minds that we are blessed instead.
Now, if we are not suffering (although we are not really expected to suffer), but if life gets too easy and that we don’t get any enemies, then we have to assess ourselves if our life still shows Jesus or if we are really preaching His name. Guaranteed that many people will disagree with the Gospel, so we will really undergo hardships, but take heart! Christ has overcome this, so we do not need to be afraid. Instead of sulking because we are struggling, rejoice! Rejoice because you are blessed and you will be rewarded with great reward in heaven.
Yet, we also have to think that it doesn’t mean that we are only doing this because we will be rewarded, but our good works, or what we do for the glory of God should be the fruit of having Christ in us. We should not do good works for the sake of the reward, but we should do good works because we have been saved through faith in Christ. Thus, let us always hold on to this promise and not stop fighting the good fight of faith. We are Christ ambassadors, and people will really see Him in us if we are truly in Him. So, we expect to be persecuted and hated by the world, but we will be loved, blessed, and fully pardoned by our God.
