“People will insult you and hurt you. They will lie and say all kinds of evil things about you because you follow me. But when they do, you will be blessed.” (Matthew 5:11-12)
People have to start realizing that the world we live in belongs to the devil. This is why in The Bible he is referred to as “the prince of this world” (John 14:30); and this is also the reason why he (the devil) had the authority to tempt Jesus by giving Him the world (Matthew 4:9).
So how did it happen that the world created by God became a world ruled by the evil one? Well, it that is a long story and discussion which is not the focus of this reflection. For now, it is sufficient to say that God made this world and gave all authority to man. But we, represented by Adam, handed over our dominion to the devil. By eating the forbidden fruit, Adam wasn’t simply filling up his stomach. Eating the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil was actually an act of rebellion and total rejection of God’s sovereignty.
Because of the blood of Jesus Christ we are made citizens of heaven and not of this world. And since we belong to The One who crushed the devil’s head, boy does the devil hate us. He hates Jesus Christ who ended his reign and he hates all those who carry Jesus Christ in their spirits (us).
So, if you are in Christ and Christ is in you, be prepared for the Lord has prophesied: the people who belong to this world will hate you and they will device and throw all sorts of nonsense to hurt you because the ruler of this world is greatly afraid of you. Darkness hates light; and we have The Light inside us.
“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
–Jesus Christ (John 8:12)
Yes, the dark forces of this world will hate you for having The Light, but the apostle John continues to encourage us:
You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. (1 John 4:4)
Jesus Christ has conquered the world, He has conquered the devil, He has conquered sin and death a lot more! So don’t think for one moment that these persecutions will harm you. They will fall flat on the ground in Jesus’ name.
So when these persecutions happen to you, rejoice! Rejoice, for you will be blessed! You will be blessed not because you are persecuted, you shall be blessed because Jesus Christ is inside you!
* Image taken from Google Images