The Reward That Makes It Worth It

Matthew 5:12 - "Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

Jesus says, "Rejoice and be exceedingly glad." That may not make sense to us. How in the world are we supposed to rejoice when we're being persecuted? Let me tell you why.

First, rejoice because you have the opportunity to show the sincerity of your faith. Do you know what got everyone's attention in that first century? Those twelve disciples - eleven of them outside of Judas - all of them died for their faith. All of them died saying Jesus is the risen Messiah. Every one of them was martyred.

Let me tell you the story of Peter. Peter and his wife were in Rome, and the officials were trying to get them to recant. Peter says, "I'm not going to recant." And so they say, "Well, then you're going to be crucified just like your master Jesus was crucified." And Peter's only request was that he would be crucified upside down. Before they crucified Peter, they let him watch his wife die a martyr's death. As his wife is going to be martyred, Peter yells out, "Remember the Lord." Then, Peter was crucified and died. All eleven disciples died proclaiming that Jesus was the promised Messiah, and that He was raised from the dead. One of the church fathers, Tertullian, said, "The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church." Their persecution showed the authenticity of their faith, and it was used to plant God's message into the hearts of those who saw their sincerity. Rejoice, because you are able to show the sincerity of your faith.

Second, rejoice because you are able to make a difference for Jesus even in the midst of persecution. Paul was in prison, and in Philippians 1:12-14, he expresses his gratitude for being imprisoned. He says, "And I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News. For everyone here, including the whole palace guard, knows that I am in chains because of Christ. And because of my imprisonment, most of the believers here have gained confidence and boldly speak God’s message without fear" (Philippians 1:12-14, NLT).

Here’s Paul, who wanted to start churches all over the known world but was sidelined when he was imprisoned. Paul states, "It's wonderful because now I've been able to share the gospel with those who are in prison with me. I've been able to encourage them in their faith. Not only that," at that time, he was chained to a guard for hours. He had a captive audience, right? He would share the gospel for as long as he had with them, and then a new guard would come in. Paul would say, "Great, I have another person to share the gospel with for several hours. You can't go anywhere." Rejoice, the gospel is advancing.

Third, rejoice because God is pleased with our faithfulness in persecution, and that's all that really matters. It reminds me of a story about a violinist who performed a concert that was simply wonderful. After he finished, the audience rose to their feet, applauding continuously and cheering for an encore. They wanted him to come back on stage. The emcee went backstage and urged him to return, saying, "You need to come back out and perform more. They want to hear something else."

The violinist replied, "I don’t want to." The emcee insisted, "But listen to them! They’re cheering for you. You did so well!" The violinist responded, "Not everyone is cheering."

Confused, the emcee asked, "What do you mean? Look out there." The violinist pointed to a man seated in the balcony who wasn’t clapping. "You see that man? He’s my teacher. If he’s not happy, then he's not cheering. It doesn’t matter if everyone else is cheering. He's the only one that matters to me."

That's the heart we need when facing persecution - we're not performing for the applause of the crowd. We're living for an audience of One. When God is pleased with our faithfulness in the face of persecution, that's all that matters. Rejoice, God sees your faithfulness. These are the rewards that make any hardship we go through worth it.

Reflection Question: When persecution comes your way, can you see it as an opportunity to show the sincerity of your faith?

Dear God, help me to rejoice even in persecution, knowing that I have the opportunity to show that my faith is genuine. Remind me that I'm Your child, and nothing can change that. May I live my life to bring honor and glory and praise to You Alone. I love You. In Jesus' Name, amen.

Adapted from "Believers Under Fire" (Matthew 5:10-12): https://www.joshfranklin.org/media/7p55s6j/8-believers-under-fire