{"id":451,"date":"2008-05-25T01:01:42","date_gmt":"2008-05-25T01:01:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/markdroberts\/2008\/05\/sunday-inspiration-from-the-high-calling-11.html"},"modified":"2008-05-25T01:01:42","modified_gmt":"2008-05-25T01:01:42","slug":"sunday-inspiration-from-the-high-calling-11","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2008\/05\/sunday-inspiration-from-the-high-calling-11.html","title":{"rendered":"Sunday Inspiration from The High Calling"},"content":{"rendered":"

Blessed Are Those Who Are Maligned for the Sake of Jesus <\/strong><\/p>\n

READ Matthew 5:1-12<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0“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.”<\/p>\n

Matthew 5:11-12<\/a><\/p>\n

The last of the beatitudes is an elaboration of the previous one: “God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs” (Matt. 5:10). Though verse 11 includes persecution among the evils that the followers of Jesus will face, the emphasis is upon verbal attacks. You are blessed, Jesus says, when people mock you, lie about you, and malign you because you are my followers.
\nMost of us in the Western world won’t experience the sort of persecution that plagued the early church, and that still impacts Christians in many parts of Asia today. But it is increasingly common in American and European society for Christians to be victims of the verbal abuse Jesus mentions in this passage. This can happen in the media, in the workplace, in the university, to name just a few contexts where Christians are sometimes belittled for their faith.
\nWhen people speak poorly of us because of our faith, we must be prepared to explain and defend our beliefs, yet always “in a gentle and respectful way” (1 Pet. 3:15). We must not return evil for evil, attacking with words those who attack us.
\nIt’s not easy to offer a Christ-like response when we are belittled for our faith. A year ago, I found myself in a three-hour radio “debate” with Christopher Hitchens, author of god is not Great<\/em> and a fervent critic of Christianity. One of Hitchens’ techniques was to insinuate that I was a fool to believe as I did. He also misrepresented the facts of Christianity several times. It was hard for me to keep my cool, and to treat Mr. Hitchens “in a gentle and respectful way,” but that was my intent.
\nJesus gives us motivation to turn the other cheek when we are maligned for our faith. “Be very glad!” he says. “For a great reward awaits you in heaven.” What will be that reward? Surely it will include God’s good pleasure in us and the knowledge that we remained faithful even in difficult circumstances. What a joy it will be to hear from our Lord: “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
\nQUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION<\/strong>: Have you ever been maligned for your faith? What did you do? What helps you to treat people with gentleness and respect even when they are mistreating you?
\nPRAYER<\/strong>: Dear Lord, from your own experience, you know how hard it is to be maligned by people. It hurts when they lie about us or say wrong things in attacking us. When this happens, our gut instinct is to hit back. But you call us to a different way. We’re to turn the other cheek, to walk the second mile, to offer gentleness and respect to those who have been harsh and rude to us. Help us, dear Lord, to do this.
\nThank you for giving us the hope of a future reward. This sustains us in hard times. But it keeps me going to know that when I am mistreated for your sake, and when I respond as you would respond, you are pleased right now.
\nAll praise be to you, dear Lord, for helping us to endure when we are mistreated for your sake. All praise be to you for the hope of a future with you. Amen<\/em>.
\nDaily Reflections from The High Calling.org <\/em><\/strong>
\nThis devotional comes from The High Calling of Our Daily Work <\/em>(www.thehighcalling.org<\/a>). You can read my Daily Reflections<\/a> there, or sign up to have them sent to your email inbox each day. This website contains lots of encouragement for people who are trying to live out their faith in the workplace.
\n\"high<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Blessed Are Those Who Are Maligned for the Sake of Jesus READ Matthew 5:1-12 \u00a0“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…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sunday-inspiration"],"yoast_head":"\nSunday Inspiration from The High Calling - Mark D. 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Roberts","description":"Mark D. Roberts: Thoughtfully Christian Reflections on Jesus, the Church, and the World","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/1ff094a57b7e41f534434b1723df3d73","name":"Mark D. Roberts","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","caption":"Mark D. Roberts"},"description":"The Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a pastor, author, retreat leader, speaker, and blogger. Since October 2007 he has been the Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge, a multifaceted ministry in the Hill Country of Texas. Before coming to Laity Lodge, he was for sixteen years the Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California (a city in Orange County about forty miles south of Los Angeles). Before his time at Irvine Pres, Mark served on the staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood as Associate Pastor of Education. (Thanks to Janel Pahl for taking the photo to the right.) Mark studied at Harvard University, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in the Study of Religion, and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins. He has taught classes in New Testament for Fuller Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary. Mark has written several books, including No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer (WaterBrook, 2005), Dare to Be True (WaterBrook, 2003), Jesus Revealed (WaterBrook, 2002), After \"I Believe\" (Baker, 2002), and Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (Word, 1993). His most recent book is Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (Crossway, 2007). He is currently working on a commentary on Ephesians that will be published by Zondervan in 2014. Mark writes a devotional for The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a website associated with Laity Lodge. His \"Daily Reflections\" can be viewed online or sent as a daily email. If you wish to receive this email, just visit TheHighCalling.org and sign up. Mark serves on the editorial board of Worship Leader magazine, where he publishes articles and reviews, including his regular column \"Lyrical Poetry.\" Additionally, he has published dozens of articles in leading magazines and journals. He often speaks for churches and other Christian groups, and has been interviewed on over seventy-five radio programs nationwide. Mark is married to Linda, who is a Marriage and Family Therapist, a Spiritual Director, and a retreat speaker. They have two children, Nathan and Kara.For Publicity Photos and Bio Statements for Mark, please check here. Mark's Dossier Professional History: Senior Director and Scholar-in Residence, Laity Lodge, October 2007 to present. Senior Pastor Irvine Presbyterian Church, June 1991 to September 2007 Adjunct Assistant Professor Fuller Theological Seminary, 1994 to 2007. Courses: New Testament Theology and Exegesis. Adjunct Instructor San Francisco Theological Seminary, 1995 to 2001. Courses: New Testament Greek and Exegesis Associate Pastor of Education First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, 1987-1991 Teaching Fellow Harvard University, 1980-1983 Education: Ph.D. in the Study of Religion. Harvard University, 1992. Area: New Testament and Christian Origins M.A. in the Study of Religion Harvard University, 1984. A.B. magna cum laude in Philosophy Harvard University, 1979. Phi Beta Kappa; Danforth Fellowship Books: Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Crossway, 2007 No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer. WaterBrook, 2005 Dare to Be True: Living in the Freedom of Complete Honesty. WaterBrook, 2003. Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better. WaterBrook, 2002. After \"I Believe\": Experiencing Authentic Christian Living. Baker, 2002. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther in the Communicator's Commentary Series. Word, 1993. Contacting Mark: You can reach Mark at: E-mail: mark@markdroberts.com mroberts@laitylodge.org Phone: Laity Lodge: (830) 792-1216 Address: Laity Lodge 719 Earl Garrett Kerrville, TX 78028","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/author\/mroberts"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=451"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}