No. 8 Take His Hits

Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Matthew 5:11, Luke 6:22

Hitting the Mark on this one is extremely difficult. I wonder what form the blessing would come in while I was being shunned and hated.

I suppose that if you are willing to take the hit for Christ, and you are really standing in His sandals. He will be with you and reward you in unimaginable ways... at some point during eternity. It’s probably worth the wait. Besides, anticipation can be more fun than achievement.

Being hated for Christ is very different than simply being hated. It may not be on account of my Christianity that I am being persecuted but on account of my personality!

Finally, I think this Mark can’t really be achieved because it depends on others to hate or persecute you. It is impossible to try to be hated while trying to love.

MAYBE there is a way. There are a few countries in this world where Christianity is forbidden. One could plan a vacation there, and wear a big gold cross. If you happened to be killed, you could become an instant saint! Now that’s a blessing! Remember though, Christian martyrs do not commit suicide! Someone else has to kill you and you have to not want that to happen!

Lord, I’m sorry for making fun of this ‘beatitudinal’ command. You know I would take your hits and even die for you. I try every day to find ways to die to my ‘self’ for Your sake, so You won’t cringe if I wear a cross and act like a jerk. If it ever happens that I am persecuted and excluded for your sake, I promise not to buckle. Well, I hope that I’ll try not to.