Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in Heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Matthew 5:10-12
It always amazes me when sermons or events in life line up with what I am have planned to write about. It is at times like this when I seem to see so clearly that God has a plan for me and is trying to focus my attention on His will. Such an occurrence happened last week with one of the posts in this series and it happened again this week with this post.
I have had this series planned since just before Lent. I was doing some research in what I could write about leading up to Easter, knowing that this is a very important time in the church and wanting to make sure that I spent adequate time focusing on the faith portion of my blog. So when our church’s pastor, Rev. Dr. Kory Knott, preached this past Sunday on a topic that lined up so well with today’s beatitude, I was stunned.
The sermon series currently going on at our church is “CSI: Jerusalem.” They even have a clever intro video that is based on the intro for the actual TV series. The sermon series has examined different parts of evidence, eye witnesses, and accounts of Jesus’s trial, execution, and resurrection. It has provided a different perspective for many of the stories from this time in Jesus’s life and death.
This past Sunday, the sermon was about the eyewitness accounts. Rev. Dr. Knott explained how the accounts are from the women who stayed by Jesus’s side, that the majority of the men who were followers of Christ were in hiding. The men feared being persecuted just as Jesus had been. Peter is famously known for having denied knowing Jesus three separate times prior to morning (when the rooster crowed).
In today’s world, it can become too easy to deny that we are followers of Jesus. We fear the questions that may follow. We fear accusations of hypocrisy and exclusion. We fear being negatively labeled. There are even times when we may feel embarrassment about identifying as Christians, such as how some felt after the vote in the Methodist church recently. But we are told through this beatitude that our strength in spite of the persecution will grant us the kingdom of Heaven. Rather than worrying about what others will say of us and worrying about what others will think of us, we should spend more time looking forward towards the Kingdom and being proud to be a Christian.
Discuss with your kids
Persecution can seem scary to little children. It has so often been used in a way that seems like punishment, and particularly if you are a family where your parenting style lends more towards discipline rather than punishment, this can be a subject where you want to tread lightly. Because of this, I like working backwards on this subject. Start by asking questions that are more relatable and then work backwards to the story of Christ. This will help put the story in better perspective without too much fear or hyperbole of the word persecution as related to this story.
Ask them – has there ever been a time when they were afraid? Has there been a time when mommy or daddy had to go away for a little bit and they were afraid to be without you? Were they afraid to be without the person they trusted? What did they think would happen?
When Jesus was taken by the soldiers, his disciples were afraid. They were afraid that something similar would happen to them. They were concerned that their beliefs would get them into trouble. Sometimes we believe something that others may not. We may become scared about what others will say or think because we love Jesus.
Explain to your kids that it’s okay to be scared. Luckily, there is someone who is always with us to help us be strong. Whenever they’re afraid, they can pray. They can come to you and you can hold them and pray with them. Reassure them that whenever they are uncertain about whether their faith is ok, that we can take a deep breath and know that God and Jesus are surrounding us with love.
Demonstrating, as parents, to our kids that it’s ok to believe in God, that our faith is not a taboo subject, and that we are proud of our faith will help to reassure them that it’s ok for them to talk about it, too. We, as women and moms, similarly to the women who were with Jesus when he was crucified, need to demonstrate how strong our faith can make us, how our lives are filled with Christ and His love, and how we can make faith a central part of our lives.
Questions to ask
- Why was Peter afraid to say he was a follower of Jesus?
- When are times that we are afraid to say we believe in God and Christ? If you are afraid, would you still admit to your faith and love for Jesus?
- What kinds of things give us strength when we are afraid? What comforts you when you are scared?
- Why should we talk about our faith? What can we share with others about our love for Jesus?
- What can we do if someone says something mean about our faith and love for Jesus?
Activities for those who might be persecuted because of their faith
- Pray. (Have you caught on that praying is an activity for every beatitude?) Finding the strength to persevere through the negativity towards our faith can be found in prayer.
- Find an object, a saying, or a person who encourages strength, who provides comfort, and who can be a reassuring presence in your faith. Encourage your children to find that person, whether it’s you, a Sunday school teacher, or a worship leader.
- Find a Bible passage that you relate to personally. I find that when I am having doubts or questions about my faith or the path that God has for me, I will fall back on my favorite scriptures to reassure me that He is still with me. The Proverbs are particularly good for this purpose, though the one I like to recite in my head is 1 Corinthians 13.
- Encourage your children to ask questions about their faith, to talk to you about being a Christian, and then answer their questions. Do not put them off or deny them an answer. The questions may be difficult, but showing that you are confident in your faith (or finding together the person who may know the answer) will show that it is okay to ask questions and still be confident in loving Jesus.
Peter was afraid to admit his love for Jesus. There can be times where we may feel afraid or ashamed to mention our faith. There can be times where we may feel we are not allowed to mention our faith. No matter our fears, we can rest assured knowing Jesus’s love and that it was so great that He died for us. It is because of His actions that, no matter what others may say or do towards us because of our faith, we can have assurance that ours is the kingdom of Heaven.