Thursday, September 20, 2012

Persecution for Faith (2 Cor. 11:21b-29)

Today’s scripture: 2 Corinthians 11:21b-29

I just finished a study with my small group on the beatitudes. The last of these is: “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:10-11).

As I went through the study, I had to ask myself: Have I ever truly been persecuted for my faith?

While I’ve been ridiculed and stifled, I’ve never been persecuted … certainly not like Paul was. When I read verses like today’s, I’m humbled—really humbled. Imprisonments. Beatings. Betrayals. Shipwrecks. Dangers from all sides.

Paul was really, truly persecuted for the sake of righteousness.

And today, Christians throughout the world are still being persecuted.

You’re probably familiar with the story of Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, who was recently released from an Iranian prison after three years. According to FoxNews.com, he “made international headlines and eventually won his freedom after being imprisoned and sentenced to death by an Iranian court.” Praise God! But the article goes on to say that “several other Christians remain in the Islamic nation's prisons simply because of their faith..” (Read more.)

Christendom has its martyrs, its persecuted. Some of us will never experience what Paul or Pastor Nadarkhani did. But whenever we stand up for truth, whenever we’re insulted for our faith, whenever we’re shunned because of Christ, we are blessed.

And one day, anything we experience during this temporary life will be forgotten as we spend eternity with our Lord.

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