Beatitudes: Persecution

March 20th, 2024
by Kevin Darnell

Beatitudes: Persecution
Love him or hate him, when Dean Smith coached the North Carolina Tar Heels men’s basketball team, the one thing that he taught was the concept of “the team”. To him, everyone had a role no matter how big or small it may have seemed. When a player made an assist, all the players sitting on the bench were to stand up and point it out and applaud. When a player came off the court, even if they weren’t pulling their weight, he and everyone else on the bench stood and applauded them. In the locker room, he didn’t go over their official statistics. Instead, he had a coach’s “honor roll” in which he took note of when they were unselfish and called attention to it. What Coach Smith ultimately formed was more than a team, it became a family.
God’s Kingdom is more than a team, it is a family. But just like a team, everyone has a role to play and there are no insignificant roles in God’s Kingdom.
In the last beatitude in Matthew 5:10-12, Jesus said that we are blessed with the Kingdom of heaven when we are persecuted because of righteousness. Then He elaborated on this and told us how we should respond to persecution by telling us, “Rejoice and be glad”. Wait a minute… seriously? When I am living for Him and being His witness and people insult me, persecute me and say evil things about me He wants me to rejoice and be glad? Yes, He does.
Jesus gave us two reasons to rejoice. The first is that He will greatly reward us in heaven. We don’t know exactly what the reward will be, but Jesus promises us that it will be great. As the Apostle Paul said in Romans 8:18, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”
The second reason we can rejoice when persecuted is because God puts us in the same category as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Zechariah and other great men and women of God. These stalwarts in the faith preached about God and told people about God. They were persecuted because of their lifestyle and their words. Are you living so differently from the world that people take note? Have you ever been insulted or talked about because of Jesus? When you live for Jesus and tell people about Him even in subtle ways, the world notices and responds in insults, persecutions, and evil things.
We may be simple bench players who point out the accomplishments of the starters, but God doesn’t miss it. He takes note of our willingness to be His witnesses and He cherishes it. He counts you as being a successor to the long line of believers who came before you because we are more than a team, we are a family. God’s family. That is reason alone to rejoice.
These are your Words for Wednesday.
I will be travelling over the next few days so I won't be with you in person (but in spirit) this coming Sunday. Instead, Jonathan Lotz, son of Ann Graham Lotz and grandson of Billy Graham, will be with you bringing the morning message. I know that you will enjoy hearing what God has to say through Jonathan. Have a great rest of your week!
In Christ,
Kevin