“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 5:11-12 NIV

You may not feel blessed when people insult you and lie to others about you. But if they do this because you are a Christian then this scripture passage tells us that you will be blessed.  Sadly, in this lost and fallen world we will run against people that just don’t like us because we are Christians.  People will accuse us of things like thinking we are better than them simply because we are Christians.  People will be looking for us to make the tiniest little slip up or stumble just so they can say “see, I told you they are no Christian”.  We are constantly being judged, our behavior is being scrutinized.

But this scripture passage tells us that this is okay, because great is our reward in heaven.  Remember we are not living for what is down here, we are living for what is up there.  We are working toward the permanent prize.  Whatever is down here is just temporary.

Also, we are to seek God’s approval, not man’s approval.  So who cares if man doesn’t approve of the way we do things, as long as Christ does.

I used to be one of those people that really wanted to please people.  I wanted to fit in.  I wanted everyone to like me.  It would actually hurt my feelings if someone that I wanted to like me said something insulting.  I was living my life in a way as to impress my friends and was not so worried about impressing God.  I never had that peace that passes understanding.  I never had that joy that filled my soul.

It took me a while but I finally realized that pleasing God was what really mattered.  I also came to realize that there would be people who would make fun of my Christian beliefs.  I realized that there would be people who would insult me for trying to live life in a way that pleased God.  I realized that people would make fun of me for doing what was right.  I also realized that there would be people who would tell lies about me to try to defame my character or discredit me to others. But the most important thing that I realized during this time was that God had my back.  God would take care of me and God would take care of those who persecuted me.  It is not my job to get all riled up because someone is being mean to me.  You see they are riling God up by picking on His child and He will deal with them so I don’t have to.

I have reached a point in my walk with Christ that I actually pity those that make fun of Christians and ridicule them and lie about them.  I know that these people lead miserable lives.  I know that these people have no peace and no joy in their lives.  They are looking for something to fill the void and unfortunately they have not discovered that Christ can fill that void.  These people have a God-sized hole in their heart.  They need God in the worst way.  If you have the opportunity to speak to these people one on one make time to speak to them about what God has done in your life.  If you don’t feel that you are in a position to talk to them then use your life to witness to them.  Just keep on keeping on with your walk with Christ and show them the changes He is making in your life.

Don’t let naysayers interrupt your love walk.  Don’t let them distract you from doing what it is that God has called you to do. God has called each and everyone of us to win others to Christ.  Satan has called others to distract us from doing so.

If you are reading this and you are one of those who ridicules Christians for their beliefs or perhaps you think all this God loving stuff is just a bunch of humbug, well then I encourage you to take time to ask one of those Christians why they believe what they do and give them an opportunity to share their testimony with you and share with you what Christ has done and is doing in their life.

My prayer for you today is that you stand firm in your belief and be filled with the power and strength that God provides when you come against these type obstacles.  Always remember, life here is temporary.  We are pushing forward to bigger and better things.

Have a great weekend!