12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends. 14You are my friends if you do what I command. 15I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit-fruit that will last-and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17This is my command: Love each other.
I have heard many stories of missionaries being persecuted for their faith. I started to ask myself how we (in America) face persecution. We aren’t necessarily beaten for our faith. We are however alienated, rejected, and at times it can be lonely. The world will not understand why we trust Jesus. In John 15:18-21 it says,
18"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20 Remember what I told you: 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. 21 They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me.
We are going to be hated by the world and we must ask ourselves if it is worth it. Is it worth it to forsake & give up this world for Jesus? Are we willing to be lonely for Christ? My father knew of an older woman when he was in seminary and she was a missionary to Burma. She was single and alone on the mission field. She was eventually kicked out of the country for causing “disruption” and telling people about Jesus. She didn’t know what to do because she felt that Burma was where she needed to be, but God had closed that door. When I heard this story, I wanted to ask her if it was really worth it. I also had to ask myself if Jesus is worth the emotional pain that I will get from the world for being a Christian. Is He worth the hatred; is He worth the strange looks I will get when I tell people about Him? I believe He is.
Philippians 3:7 says,
7But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake, I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ
Romans 8:18,
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
It is worth it because we will stand before the throne of God one day and all of the pain that we suffer here on earth will be nothing compared to being with Jesus in heaven. When you deal with things like loneliness or rejection, remember that it is worth the pain to follow God. Sometimes, you must be lonely to follow Jesus. God wants you to rely on Him rather than earthly relationships or things. Friendship is a good thing and I am not discouraging you from them, but I want us to realize that that may not be readily available to us at all times. God may call us to give up those precious friendships for a short time in order to serve him better.
I want to ask you if you believe that Jesus is worth it. Right now, we live in Christian homes, we go to church on Sunday and we rely heavily on our parents when it comes to our faith. I want to ask you honestly, do you believe that Jesus is worth the hate, the pain, and the rejection? Is Christ everything to you? These are questions that I have had to ask myself and answer honestly. I want to challenge us. Over the next month, I want you to do a couple things. These are very simple and easy to do.
1. Read your bible in the morning and evening.
2. Pray 3 times a day. If you don’t have a habit of praying more often, then I suggest starting at 3 times a day. Start with meals, but don’t just thank God for your food. Pray for 2 things. 1- A personal thing. Something that you are going through. This is for you to decide on and change. 2- Ask God to give you a desire to follow Him no matter what. We see a pattern of praying three times a day from Daniel. Daniel 6:10 When Daniel learned that the written document had been signed, he went to an upstairs room in his house that had windows opened facing Jerusalem. Three times a day he would kneel down, pray, and give thanks to his God, just as he had previously done.
3, Have an accountability partner.
4. Read more, waste less time. Pick a few good books and read instead of spending time on email/games, etc. You can pick a few good biographies on strong Christians of the past or have your parents choose.
5.Share the gospel with at least 1 person this month. Ask God to show you someone to share your faith with.
6. Pick five verses and memorize them. When you deal with temptation and you find it difficult to focus on the Lord, scripture will help you fight against sin.
This is to encourage you to develop and grow your own faith. So, that when the difficult times come and you find your faith being tested, you can learn to rely on Jesus.
