Blessed Are the Persecuted

Some Jesus followers are persecuted because they are jerks … obnoxious … abrasive … arrogant. Maybe they speak truth without grace … and when people push back, they think they are being persecuted for righteousness sake. Maybe not. Maybe they are being persecuted because they are jerks. Jesus is talking about doing the right thing when the right thing is hard. Jesus is talking about doing living by the standards of our rightful King when his standards are countercultural … which they are … a lot. Jesus is talking about doing the right thing when others don’t understand, when others don’t agree, when others push back, or push you away, of mock, or exclude, or penalize, or ridicule or otherwise mistreat you … … for the sake of righteousness. Have you ever been asked to do something you know is wrong, pushed to do something you know is wrong, and there was a part of you that wanted to do it … but you didn’t, because you are a Jesus follower … and because you didn’t someone came after you? Two big ideas, guys, about what qualifies. These are huge. These are at the heart of this beatitude, I think. #1: Is your “suffering” as result of your loyalty to Jesus? And #2: Is your suffering endured with the character of Jesus?