Matthew 5:11–12 (NKJV)
11 “Blessed are you when [men]
revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My
sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven,
for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Vice President Joe Biden declared this last Tuesday that “protecting
gay rights is a defining mark of a civilized nation and must trump national
cultures and social traditions.” He warned other nations that there is a price
to pay for failing to do so.
We shouldn't misunderstand what this means. In one fell
swoop, Biden has identified all traditional Christians – as well as Jews and
Muslims for that matter – as enemies of civilization. Of course, Biden is using
this rhetoric to justify intervention and regime change in Africa, the Middle
East, and Russia. But such a statement must necessarily relegate us to barbaric
status as well. Should this policy prevail, we will find ourselves the object
of discrimination and persecution, labeled as “those who turn the world upside
down.”
It is fitting for us to remember, therefore, how we are
to respond to such persecution. It is ever easy to take opposition personally
and forget that in defending the cause of Christ we’re not defending ourselves
but the truth. And because we’re defending the truth, we can rest in the
knowledge that God is His own best Defender. He will vindicate His Name and
demonstrate to all nations that He is Yahweh.
In the meantime, our calling as individuals is to imitate
His grace and mercy by showing kindness to those who persecute us or say all
kinds of evil against us. While standing courageously for the truth and
speaking it frankly, we are to look for ways to bless and extend grace to our
persecutors. Why? Because this is the way God acts toward his enemies day by
day. And if God extends grace, ought not we?
We must always beware the lure of moralism and
defensiveness; we must ever remember the grace and mercy that God has extended
to us and so extend it to others. As we do so, we can rest in God’s promise
that no gracious word, no good deed, no turning of the other cheek will go
unnoticed. Blessed are you when they
revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My
sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for
so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
And this type of faith manifesting itself in love is
precisely what the Apostles modeled for us when they were persecuted by the
Jerusalem authorities for preaching Christ – they rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for Christ’s name
(Acts 5:41b).
But often we respond to the criticisms and slanders of
others not by giving a blessing but by giving an insult instead. Rather than
returning good for evil, we return evil for evil. But this is not the way of
our Lord Christ, nor is it the way that God will work to bring the nations to
bow before Christ and acknowledge Him to be Lord of all. So let us confess our
sin to the Lord and pray that He would enable us to give a blessing instead.
0 comments:
Post a Comment