Matthew 5:11-12
“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
“Bible-thumping bigot”
“Narrow-minded extremist”
“Right-wing fundamentalist”
"Jesus freak"
"Judgmental jerk"
Forget the nicknames of your youth, friends. These are the new monikers you might receive when you choose to follow the Suffering Servant. I say "might" because a lot of us will never have these dispersions cast our way. What a shame. Scripture tells us over and over again that the world will hate us … revile us … persecute us … IF we are living out an authentic faith. If you aren't? The world loves its own (John 15:18-20) so it will embrace you as a friend.
Don't get me wrong. The Bible is not calling any of us to go out and look for trouble. If you are an unloving, obnoxious, spiritually arrogant person, THAT is why people dislike you … and they should. Again, the more you live out the first seven beatitudes in plain sight (but not to bring attention to yourself), the more the world will push back -- a promise Jesus made to all of His followers.
I love what F.B. Meyer says about the advantage of being persecuted for your love of Jesus:
“If I am told that I am to take a journey that is a dangerous trip, every jolt along the way will remind me that I am on the right road.”
Are there any jolts in your life? I sincerely hope so, because if there aren't … you are traveling down the wrong road.
