Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Matthew 5: 11

When the prophets died, they were welcomed into heaven.  Jesus saw, firsthand, the joy that Isaiah, Jeremiah, and all the others experienced at their homecoming.  The same joy is predicted for us when we enter glory if we were mistreated here on earth for His sake. He told us to rejoice when we face the hardships the prophets faced because we’ll reap a future identical to theirs if we persevere through malignment, false rumors, gross misjudgments, and physical torture.

But persecution isn’t always physical.  Traumatic things often unfold when I do what is right and stand alone for it, when I speak an unwelcome truth, and when I follow my conscience. The wounds come, not because I failed, but because, by God’s grace, I was faithful.  

I’ll be excluded from groups that are uncomfortable with my passion for Jesus.  I’ll be rejected for being ‘too much’, too deep, too in love with the Word.  I’ll be isolated when hunger for righteousness is not shared and when there’s no willingness to compromise.  

If all of this resonates and makes your heart feel comforted, know this ~ We are not crazy.  We are not alone.  We are not forgotten.  We are walking the narrow path together ~ the Jesus path.  The ones the world rejects for righteousness are the very ones heaven welcomes with open arms.  What we lose for Jesus’ sake will be returned to each of us in glory.      

Help us hold fast. Amen