“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:10 NIV
Jesus ends the list of the “blessed” in what we call “The Beatitudes” with the persecuted. Being persecuted is defined as ‘facing hostility or being ill treated’ and may look differently for different people. When we think of persecution, our minds go to severe situations such as torture, imprisonment and even death. However, there are other forms of persecution that Christians have suffered over the years that are either not as well known or are not viewed as being as severe.
Some of those situations include being fired from a job because of your Christian beliefs, being insulted, being made fun of, having family exclude you from family gatherings. Christians who are willing to follow Jesus and live their lives in the manner that is asked of them will probably face judgment and even persecution at some point in their life.
A determining factor in the level of persecution depends on where you live. For example, in North Korea, India and Afghanistan, people are sentenced to death if it is determined that they are Christians. Thankfully in the United States of America, we are free to practice whatever religion we choose to practice and have safeguards against being discriminated and persecuted because of those practices. However, the safeguards do not stop individuals from making fun of Christians, insulting Christians or excluding Christians from their own friend circle or families.
I believe that the idea of being persecuted because of your righteous actions is listed here because you can avoid being persecuted all together. You can choose to not let others know that you are a Christians, you can choose to not do what is right. When you are committed to Jesus, just as Jesus is committed to you, remember He died on the cross for you, then you choose to show others your belief in Him.
For a large group of people, making that choice to show their love of Jesus results in them losing family relationships, connections with friends and even their freedom to be in certain places such as particular restaurants. When we choose to let everyone know that we are a child of God, and risk losing something to make our love for Jesus well known, we are blessed.
It is interesting to me that the first beatitude and the last beatitude have the same reward of “the kingdom of heaven”. Jesus started the list with the action that had to do with our inward acknowledgement of dependence on God and He ends the list with the action of our outward acknowledgment of choosing to follow God even when it costs us by the world’s standard. We can’t enter or have the reward of heaven if we are not willing to believe that we need Jesus and accept Him as our Lord and Savior. We should rightfully not be allowed to enter or have the reward of heaven if we do not choose to stand for Jesus when it will cost us. Afterall, Jesus stood for us and lost His life to show everyone that He loves us and wants us in heaven with Him.
Are you proud to be a child of God? I am and I even had that very statement – “Child of God” tattooed on my arm because I am proud that God is willing to have me in His family. Whether or not you have been persecuted because of your belief in Christ or your actions as a Christian, other Christians have been and please pray with me for their deliverance.