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

Honestly, I like it when I am praised and rewarded for doing good. That suits my nature.  But, just a minute!  Jesus says, in effect, that if I am a true follower of his I should know that by loving Him I can expect persecution and false accusations.  That does not sound like a good thing to my natural man. Right. But I must remember that Jesus Christ lives in me by faith so I can expect that because he lives in me and shapes me, I will also suffer as He did.

Then Jesus turns to an amazing fact; because we participate in the sufferings of Christ we will rejoice and be glad because we are receiving our reward in heaven.  Then he comforts us with the realization that through the ages, those who walked with God suffered persecution.  That was common to them all.  He assures us that our common suffering results in our common joy.

I need to resist the temptation to think that walking with Jesus is the way to avoid suffering.  Jesus himself reminds us that if we walk with him we will suffer, but the reward is nothing less than exuberant joy and gladness.

I need this sure word today, as do we all.  May it guide us every step of the way.