Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:10

Welcome to following Jesus, now die! What a crazy way to climax this amazing set of character builders.

Just for fun, did you notice that we have had seven Beatitudes to this point? Seven is God’s perfect number, the number of completion. God rested on the 7th day because He finished, not because He reached the end of His energy.

So why do the beatitudes keep going?

The first seven of these steps on God’s stairway to heaven do the job. The person who walks this path finds themself in the will of God.

In this eighth Beatitude, this final step,  Jesus is saying “Welcome to the first day of the rest of your life! I died for you, now you get to die to yourself, every day!”

It is important to know that Jesus promises persecution to Christians. The Bible speaks to this repeatedly but my favorite is this from John’s gospel:

They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God.” ~ John 16:2

Did you hear that – Jesus warned they would throw you out of church. And then, the guy who kills you will think he is doing God a favor. (Sounds a lot like a guy named Saul of Tarsus.)

OK, so I have a question for you. What does it mean if you never feel any persecution? Is this a cultural thing that no longer is in effect? Is Jesus’ warning just idle words? Is Jesus only prepping these few and first disciples who will get in big trouble for His name’s sake? We don’t take the heat because we live in “Christian” America or the tolerant 21st century?

Persecution is evidence that Christ is living in you.

Nope, that’s not it. If you don’t ever feel any persecution, you might want to go back over the steps. Make sure you have not jumped to the conclusion that you are a Christian, because of some outside factor. You can only become a Christian, by from the inside out. Jesus said the He and His Father would come and take up residence in you. Persecution is evidence that Christ is living in you.

Today, the point I am making is that persecution is not something unlucky Christians face, but it is a marker of the presence of Christ. And let me be clear, No Christ inside–No kingdom of heaven!

These words might seem a little harsh today, but don’t take offense at my choice of words. If it is God’s word that offends you, I beg you, go back to step one–humble yourselves before the hand of Almighty God! Do it today. Ask Him if you are His. Don’t wait – do it now.

Hey – thanks for coming by.

Stay tuned, there’s more.

Ben