When you commit to living a life of faith, there will be haters. People who want to tear you down or even
harm you for loving Jesus. This has happened since forever… so we shouldn’t think today’s times are any
different. It does make you think though… are you willing to stand up for what you believe, or does it
make you quietly back down to retreat into silence?
Persecution is a relative term. I would guess those in countries where Christians are being murdered
certainly wouldn’t feel that people saying bad things about us warrants true understanding of what it
means to be persecuted. While there is truth to that, no matter where we live, we are being tested on
what we believe and even mocked for having those beliefs. It comes at us in many forms from many
people. Persecution doesn’t always come from the outside, sometimes it can come from those we love
or those even in our own church.
And if we are responding to persecution, are we doing it with love or are feeding into the same evil and
hate it was intended to hurt you with? Let me just remind you what Jesus Himself said, “Blessed are
those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, the kingdom of heaven is theirs…” and that’s a
pretty great reward.