"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness, because the kingdom of heaven is theirs."
Matthew 5:10
From a literal aspect, let's just look for a second at Christ with this one, shall we? Did He suffer? Oh yes. And is He the King of kings, seated at the right hand of God the Father in Heaven? Certainly. Is it He that will reign in the millennial kingdom? Indeed. Therefore, Jesus is blessed for His sufferings... and He is our example... so we might suffer if we do the right thing all the time like He did... but we would be blessed for it!
What baffles me about this is that certain people would have you believe that we are intended to live a life of ease and lavish comfort, because we are the saved Christians. But our Example did not have such a life, did He? He was tormented, hated, tortured, dismissed, ignored, reviled, beaten and murdered an innocent Man. I don't see a lot of comfort there. We are called to serve, and called to suffer, and that is a privilege.
When we suffer and we are persecuted for chasing righteousness with fervor, we should always say a quiet prayer of thanks for the privilege to stand against the evil of this world. Each and every time, we are given the blessing to stand up for our convictions and beliefs, and we are always better for doing just that. It is for His glory that we suffer, and to His glory that we will be brought after we finish our earthly race. And that is an amazing timeline of events, if you ask me.
The point is, friends, that we need to acknowledge that the "health, wealth, and happiness" preachers and preaching has little validity in the lives of the Christian. The most powerful saints I currently know are suffering under all kinds of different ailments and diseases, losing loved ones sooner than they think necessary, facing all manner of opposition in the world... but they are blessed and joyous, no matter what, because their reward is NOT on this earth in mansions or in large and puffed up bank accounts, but in Heaven! They understand that the things of this earth will pass away, but the Word of our LORD stands forever! They are not concerned with the car they drive or the clothes they wear or any other such ridiculous nonsense... because they are focused solely on the end game, the reward in Heaven, the righteousness of Christ!
Now, make no mistake, there are times when you will be happy, healthy and perhaps even wealthy, according to the standards of the world... but we are not called to measure ourselves against the standards of the world, are we? Does that pinch a little too tight for you like it does for me? Wise stewards may be blessed to have the privilege to oversee more blessings, but those wise stewards with much will be in the same Heaven as those wise servants with little, and neither will have any greater status than as a child of the Most High God and co-heir with Christ. Always remember that the ground is level at the foot of the cross... and while we suffer here, we will inherit the kingdom of heaven and be residents in true paradise!
God bless you all!!!
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