3 For consider Him who endured such hostility
from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your
souls. 7 If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons;
for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? Hebrews 12:3,7 NKJV)
As a
Christian have you ever been in a hard or painful situation and pondered
whether your circumstances were the result of persecution from people or
chastisement from God. One morning you
get up thinking; how could people be so
mean to me? The next day you are
wondering if your affliction is from God to deal with some unruly aspects of
your heart. Oddly enough, it could be a
little of both.
The commentator,
Matthew Henry wrote; “Those afflictions that may be persecution as far as other
people are concerned are fatherly rebukes and chastisements as far as God is
concerned”. Often when we are wounded by
the hateful actions of people, it brings to the surface the sinful residues
found in the depths of our hearts. We
are surprised by our responses. The
persecution did not create our wrong or sinful attitudes; it just brings them
to the surface. Although the actions
towards us may be totally ungodly in nature, God uses them as avenues for
divine correction. So Ken, you are
saying that my persecutors are doing me a favor. Actually, in a strange way, I
am. Unless the secret sins of the human
heart are exposed they can never be dealt with properly, always attacking us
from a camouflaged position.
What should
our response be? The Bible instructs
us. ….“My son, do not despise the
chastening of the Lord, … (v. 5). We
must come to the realization that no matter how wrongly we are being treated
that God has redemptive purposes in it.
How did Jesus respond to persecution?
He endured. Instead of hating
those who falsely accused Him, He loved them.
He forgave them rather than retaliate, as those around Him wanted Him to
do. To embrace instead of despising our sufferings, it is imperative that we
realize that they are for our own good. …but
He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His
holiness. (v.10 NASB). Without having
fellowship with Christ’s sufferings, we will never share in His holiness. As the commentator once said; “People
persecute the believers because they are religious; God rebukes because they
are not more so”.
Pray with me. Lord, help me to endure your loving discipline. When I am hated, help me to love. When people are unforgiving, help me to forgive. Lord, without You I cannot do this. I need Your grace.
Ken Barnes the author of “The Chicken
Farm and Other Sacred Places” YWAM
Publishing
Email: kenbarnes737@gmail.com
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