Day 20

“Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you,...”

—LUKE 6:26

Jesus warned that faithfulness to Christ will not equal popularity with the world. There is no virtue in being rejected or despised, so we do not seek it, but it may come, but be sure of why it comes! When Jesus began His ministry, ‘All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips’ (Luke 4:22), and towards the end of His ministry, ‘the common people heard him gladly’ (Mark 12:37 KJV), or ‘listened to him with delight’ (NIV). Jesus did not delight in enemies, only in friends, but He certainly developed enemies.

The problem comes when hostility begins with the people of God towards those outside of Christ, especially those whose sins we identify for special condemnation. I once talked to a gay young man who had only experienced hostility from Christian people, never compassion, love or an attempt to understand him. He did not initiate rejection, he received it from believers.

Someone once said to me regarding a difficult neighbor with whom he and his wife had to live, “Well, at least they know what we stand for.” I thought to myself, (but hadn’t the courage to say it at the time), ‘well maybe they do, but do they know that you love them?’ It is love that penetrates the human heart, not the things we ‘stand for’. Jesus said to the religious leaders of His day who were very careful about who they associated with, “I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him” (Matthew 21:31-32).

The reason tax collectors and prostitutes led the way to the kingdom of God is because they knew Jesus loved them. Look at His treatment of the woman caught in the act of adultery, the woman who poured expensive ointment over His feet, the five times married woman from Samaria who was now living with another man, the ashamed tax collector who climbed a tree to watch Jesus pass by – these are the ones who heard Him gladly, for they saw and felt His heart.

Let’s accept hostility and rejection when it comes, but let’s accept it because we really do love the people and only have their best in mind, and not because we are championing a cause they do not understand.

PRAYER: Thank You, Jesus, for the wonderful example You set in how we are to treat others. Forgive me for every time I have failed to love. Abide in me, Lord, and keep me from ever taking a critical stance against those who have yet to be drawn to You.

TO REFLECT UPON: Am I exhibiting the love of Christ regardless of differing beliefs?