Matthew 5:11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.”

Are there people in your life that treat you this way?

Jesus was about to go to the Cross and die. Then His resurrection and ascension would lead to the Day of Pentecost and the gospel was then going to be spread throughout the known world.

The result of that growth of believers would lead to widespread persecution and many deaths in some very public ways. Christians were said to be the main attraction in the Roman Colosseum as they were slaughtered for entertainment.

Do we see that happening in our lives today? Are we being persecuted or just ignored as if our faith is irrelevant! No one wants to hear that the real problem is sin. How dare we ever say that sin is the problem?

The answer to sin is the love of God but how will they know God’s love if they have never been loved? A heart unloved is a vacuum that is easily filled with sinful acts masquerading as love because they have never known God’s love.

Showing God’s love is a one on one experience and it is not entertainment.

I have been pondering the Shepherd and the 99 sheep. The Good Shepherd went out, found the one and brought him home. That one sheep that had gone astray had always been part of the flock. Preaching the gospel and seeking to save the lost is pointless if it is only shared with the flock.

Are we afraid of being persecuted by the world?

Here is one more thought on this. We are missing that blessing if we let fear keep us from reaching the lost.

One last thought, we are all sent.