12th, February, 2022.

REJOICING IN PERSECUTION

Mt 5: 11-12 “God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way. NLT

In A.D.64, Nero the Roman emperor burnt a part of Rome. He was a wicked leader who desired that nothing would be left after he was gone. He wanted to be the last ruler of that modern city so he arranged with some of his men to set a larger part of Rome on fire. In history we were told the fire raged for 7 days while other sources said 9 days. This infuriated the citizens of Rome and they questioned him. In a bid to cover up his heinous act, he lied on the Christians saying they were behind the burning of Rome. Many innocent Christians were arrested and killed for an offence they knew nothing about. At that time, many people saw Christianity as "Religio Illicita" ( illegal religion) so it meant nothing if believers were killed. They fed them to hungry lions.

The message that pitched the believers against the rulers of that time was the message about the coming kingdom of God and rulership of the Messiah. They felt threatened that they wanted to take over. That is the Gospel the early church preached that earned them persecution. They didn't preach a feel good Gospel. What are we preaching today? Oral tradition says that the Christians killed by Nero sang and rejoiced in the face of death. That made them look weird to the people watching them. Nero was surprised seeing people singing when faced with death. Long after they died, Nero was angry seeing their laughing skull and he wondered the kind of breed they were. He kicked their skulls. The same Nero killed Paul and Peter. He was a brutal leader whom some thought was the anti Christ.

I've asked myself if I can laugh and sing hymns in the face of death like those men did. They saw the glory of God while on this side of eternity so death meant nothing to them. The admonition of Christ in the sermon he preached on the mount is that we should rejoice when we are persecuted on his behalf. That's not the time to curse God and ask questions. Your faith in Christ will be opposed and mocked: "In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted", 2 Tim3:12. Godliness attracts persecution. Ours may not be a brutal persecution like men of old but it will come in another dimension. The time will come when you'll be derided and deprived on account of your uncompromising stand, the bible says you should rejoice.