“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
5:11-12
Persecute - To
oppress or harass with ill-treatment, especially because of race, religion,
gender, sexual orientation, or beliefs.
These verses are part of
Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, which is a teaching at the beginning of his
ministry on earth. It reveals the nature
of the kingdom of God and the character of life within the kingdom.1
While
persecution, by and large, has not visited the United States on a grand scale,
there are pockets of it that exist. It
is in other countries that we see death and ostracism (the exclusion from a
group) due to ones faith in larger numbers. Families shun its’ members because
they have turned to Christianity.
Zealous religious sects execute men, women and even small children for
their belief in Christ. I am unaware of
other religions experiencing such hatred towards them. If that is literally
true then it must be because Christianity is the only belief system that
provides forgiveness and freedom from past sins.
It can be easily seen that Almighty God and His Son,
Jesus Christ, are highly polarizing, but that should be no reason to avoid
allegiance to them. What’s right is
right and if you believe in something it will have no value to you if you don’t
stand up for that belief. Scripture
clearly tells us in Matthew 5:14-16 that we are the light of the world and are
not to hide that light under a bowl. That would obviously serve no
purpose. It would be like a flashlight
without batteries.
Should persecution ever come to our country due to the
haters who have decided that belief in God is dangerous (as evangelistic atheists
do), we must stand true to our beliefs knowing that whatever awaits us in
heaven is so far superior and glorious to that which we now endure our minds
could never comprehend it. Until next
time, walk with the King and be a blessing!
1 Asbury Bible Commentary – The
Sermon on the Mount (5:1–7:28)
