1 February 2023 - Blessed are those persecuted for doing right

Matthew 5:10 (AMP) “Blessed are those who are persecuted for doing that which is morally right, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven .

We will encounter difficulties, unfair treatment, and persecution in this life. But this verse reminds us that no matter what happens in this life, we are blessed when we do what is right because we have the kingdom of heaven, forever.

Jesus says that those who are persecuted for this reason are blessed and are part of the kingdom of heaven. Being faithful, used by God, and bearing fruit are choices we make to honour God despite the criticism or persecution that comes. But we can be sure that because of our faithfulness, we will be blessed for eternity with God.

1 Peter 4:12-19 (NLT) Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world If you are insulted because you bear the name of Christ, you will be blessed, for the glorious Spirit of God rests upon you. If you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making trouble, or prying into other people’s affairs. But it is no shame to suffer for being a Christian. Praise God for the privilege of being called by his name! For the time has come for judgment, and it must begin with God’s household. And if judgment begins with us, what terrible fate awaits those who have never obeyed God’s Good News? And also, “If the righteous are barely saved, what will happen to godless sinners?” So if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for he will never fail you.

Mark 10:29-30 (NKJV) So Jesus answered and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life.

Jesus confirms that we will experience persecution, but He invites us to respond through rejoicing and gladness. Persecution develops in the Christian a deep spiritual formation into the image of Jesus and the joy of being faithfully united with Him.