“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.” (Matthew 5:11, ESV)
We have come to the last verse of the Beatitudes of the Sermon on the Mount. Here Jesus continues the thought from last week’s verse. You are blessed when you suffer for the sake of Christ. The Apostle Peter shares this sentiment in 1 Peter 3:14-17.
“But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.” (1 Peter 3:14–17, ESV)
There is suffering in this world. We will all suffer at one time or another. But let’s make sure we are suffering for the right reasons.
Next week we will continue our memorization challenge by looking at Psalm 1.
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