Sept 30 - Matthew 5:11-12

Jesus said,

"Blessed are you when people revile you

and persecute you and utter all kinds

of evil against you falsely on my account.

Rejoice and be glad, for your reward

is great in heaven, for in the same way

they persecuted the prophets

who were before you.

Matthew 5:11-12

I've often said that being a prophet is one of the worst jobs in the kingdom.

God calls you to walk up to a murderous and adulterous king, poke your finger in his eye, and say, "It's all your fault. You are the root of all problems in this world!" (Then sometimes, like Elijah, you run for your life! Indeed, you run so long and far that you collapse on a mountain and scream, "I wish I was dead.")

Yes, being a prophet is a crummy job.

And apparently Jesus failed Advertising 101. Instead of softening the call to discipleship and playing up all the benefits, he said essentially, "Wow ... being a disciple is just like being a prophet! People are going to revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely. Want to sign up?"

My temptation would have been to focus on the considerable "blessings" -- "blessed are those who ..." Yes, you will be honored by the Father. Yes, your names will be written in the history books ... and more importantly in the Lamb's Book of Life.

Yes, that would have been me. That's a human method.

But Jesus wasn't trying to sell anything.

We shouldn't follow for the benefits (even though they're considerable, eternal). We should follow simply because He is God. Duty. We should stand up boldly because this is the only truth. We should confront sin (instead of wink at it like we do) simply because it is abhorrent in God's eyes ... and we should hate what he hates. We should embrace being reviled by a repulsive culture because that's one of the few places light shines in a darkened world.

How's that for a job description? It won't be easy. But can you trust that this is the path to being truly able to "rejoice and be glad"? (And here's the human advertising benefit: Will you be prophetic in a lost world, trusting that "your reward is great in heaven"?)

Will you?

In Christ's Love,

a guy who needs

to be bolder

(How about you?)