You know those commercials where people are frolicking through a field, full of color and vibrancy and promise—and then at the last four seconds the narrator rattles off: "Minor side effects include rage, mood swings, sleepwalking, severe depression, heart palpitations, stroke."
All in the fine print.
Scripture Focus: John 15:18-20; 2 Timothy 3:12; Philippians 1:29
"If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you."
"Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted."
"For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for Him."
Jesus never cloaked the cost of following Him. He never disguised the opposition that is going to come from identifying with Him. He made it crystal clear. In fact, He makes this the prominent theme of His parting words on the night before His crucifixion.
He says in Luke 14:27, "Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple." He constantly wanted to discourage spurious and superficial faith. He wanted to eliminate the shock and surprise that would come from following Him and then being rejected by the world.
And yet the church in America today largely has a strategy: be as much like the world as possible so that you can reach it. But Jesus says, "If you are following Me, if you are preaching what I preach, if you are living how I live, if you are talking like I talk—you are going to be hated."
From the earliest moments of His ministry, Jesus reads a scroll in the synagogue—and immediately they try to throw Him off a cliff. But one pastor said, "The Jesus preached in the modern pulpit today would never have been killed."
Peter says, "Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering as though something strange were happening to you." Suffering for Christ is not abnormal. It's normal. And Peter says, "This is nothing strange—this is exactly what Jesus promised."
Andrew was hung on a cross. Nathaniel was skinned alive. James was stabbed with a sword. Thomas was thrust through with a spear. Paul was beheaded under Nero. There have been more people killed for following Christ in the last 100 years than in the previous 1,900 years combined.
And yet in the Western world, we experience a reprieve from that—which is a cultural and historical abnormality. And that abnormality is rapidly diminishing.
Jesus says, "A slave is not greater than his master. If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you." He says in Luke 6, "Woe to you if all men speak well of you." Isn't that interesting?
Smooth sailing in this life is not necessarily a mark of blessing. It may actually be an indication that you too closely resemble the world you are called to reach.
1. Has Jesus's warning about the world's hatred surprised you—or have you been prepared for it?
2. When was the last time you experienced any opposition or hostility for following Jesus?
3. Does the ease of your Christian life in a comfortable culture concern you or comfort you?
Stay dialed in
