Persecuted for Righteousness
Reflection on the message of Bro Josh Gurango
What’s great about being persecuted? How can I rejoice and think myself blessed when I am being attacked or ridiculed about professing my faith in Christ? What is there to delight in when I get mocked for my convictions and sneered at by friends for making unpopular choices?
These days, a young woman who believes she must keep herself pure before marriage is made fun of by her peers. A young man who refuses to indulge in alcohol and vices is sneered at and called all sorts of labels. A businessman is thought to be foolish for not playing the bribing game in his business dealings. A son/daughter is teased for choosing to follow the curfew set by their parents. A wife is frowned upon and thought of as crazy when she speaks about submission to her husband, and a husband is jested by his colleagues for staying faithful to his wife.
Such situations may be considered inconsequential and senseless by the world’s standards, but to a Bible-reading, Bible-believing and Bible-obeying Christian, this is the cost of following Jesus Christ. It is said in Matthew 16:24 by no less than Jesus Himself: that one must take up his cross and follow Jesus. And if this is His command, how are we to be joyful when we are facing persecution? While these convictions and principles make absolutely no sense to the world, it does make complete sense to someone who has a true relationship with Jesus; one who seeks righteousness.
In this day and age, anyone who does not give in to peer pressure to join in the fun and sinfulness of the world will be rejected because the world sees the poor in spirit as pushovers and the mournful as holier-than-thou. Being meek is the antithesis of man’s egotistic nature. And the wonderful fruits of righteousness, mercy, purity in heart and peaceable spirit are seen as weaknesses, as liabilities that will not advance one’s selfish purpose. But as Christ-imitators, we are to continuously seek, hunger and thirst for, and live in righteousness, because true righteousness is tested when persecution comes.
When we become Christ-followers, we aren’t called to seek or look for persecution, but we are called to expect it. And this isn’t limited to just being made fun of or mocked, but even to the extent of giving up our lives for the sake of faithfully proclaiming the gospel. Paul affirmed this truth in 2 Timothy 3:12, and this was also said by Jesus in Matthew 5:10-12: to undergo such persecution for righteousness sake, to be insulted, slandered and abused on account of Him, should be considered a blessing. But we cannot see or experience joy in persecution unless we see that the reason why we are persecuted is more valuable than how we are suffering.
In short, we must be able to see that our relationship and eternal life with Jesus Christ as more precious than our affiliation with and temporal life in this world. And if we aren’t yet being persecuted for our faith, then we must examine ourselves whether we truly understand what we are living and must be suffering for.
Reflection on the message of Bro Josh Gurango
What’s great about being persecuted? How can I rejoice and think myself blessed when I am being attacked or ridiculed about professing my faith in Christ? What is there to delight in when I get mocked for my convictions and sneered at by friends for making unpopular choices?
These days, a young woman who believes she must keep herself pure before marriage is made fun of by her peers. A young man who refuses to indulge in alcohol and vices is sneered at and called all sorts of labels. A businessman is thought to be foolish for not playing the bribing game in his business dealings. A son/daughter is teased for choosing to follow the curfew set by their parents. A wife is frowned upon and thought of as crazy when she speaks about submission to her husband, and a husband is jested by his colleagues for staying faithful to his wife.
Such situations may be considered inconsequential and senseless by the world’s standards, but to a Bible-reading, Bible-believing and Bible-obeying Christian, this is the cost of following Jesus Christ. It is said in Matthew 16:24 by no less than Jesus Himself: that one must take up his cross and follow Jesus. And if this is His command, how are we to be joyful when we are facing persecution? While these convictions and principles make absolutely no sense to the world, it does make complete sense to someone who has a true relationship with Jesus; one who seeks righteousness.
In this day and age, anyone who does not give in to peer pressure to join in the fun and sinfulness of the world will be rejected because the world sees the poor in spirit as pushovers and the mournful as holier-than-thou. Being meek is the antithesis of man’s egotistic nature. And the wonderful fruits of righteousness, mercy, purity in heart and peaceable spirit are seen as weaknesses, as liabilities that will not advance one’s selfish purpose. But as Christ-imitators, we are to continuously seek, hunger and thirst for, and live in righteousness, because true righteousness is tested when persecution comes.
When we become Christ-followers, we aren’t called to seek or look for persecution, but we are called to expect it. And this isn’t limited to just being made fun of or mocked, but even to the extent of giving up our lives for the sake of faithfully proclaiming the gospel. Paul affirmed this truth in 2 Timothy 3:12, and this was also said by Jesus in Matthew 5:10-12: to undergo such persecution for righteousness sake, to be insulted, slandered and abused on account of Him, should be considered a blessing. But we cannot see or experience joy in persecution unless we see that the reason why we are persecuted is more valuable than how we are suffering.
In short, we must be able to see that our relationship and eternal life with Jesus Christ as more precious than our affiliation with and temporal life in this world. And if we aren’t yet being persecuted for our faith, then we must examine ourselves whether we truly understand what we are living and must be suffering for.