Matthew 5:10-12
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
If you are being currently persecuted because of Christ our Lord, then you are doing the right thing. If you are not being persecuted, then be worried! It is God's will that we should be persecuted. His only begotten Son was persecuted cruelly before God the Father's very eyes. His first fruits, the twelve apostles minus the one, son of perdition, were also persecuted badly. Judas Iscariot was afraid of being persecuted, so he joined the other side. Peter was afraid of persecution at first, so he denied the Lord three times as the cock crew three times when he repeatedly said that he did not know the Lord. The Lord had to reassure Peter the same three times after He had resurrected to life, to tell Peter that He knows he really loves Him, but he failed because of the fear of persecution. It's alright, he assured him. I went through it with God's help. The grave could hold me in beyond three days and three nights. That's about it.
God knows every motive and intention of the heart. He looks at the heart. Peter had a heart but he feared persecution. He needed God the Holy Spirit to fill Him first and then after that he was willing to be persecuted. So, were all the other apostles of Christ. They all deserted Christ our Lord, when he was being persecuted. The Lord Jesus Christ is the perfect example of a true gentleman. He stood up alone for the truth about God, for He is that Truth about God. He is the exact representation of the Father on Earth. We bow before Him in adoration and praises. There is no one like Him in all eternity. He is the perfect example of a son to His Father. He obeyed Him even in death. We want to love and obey only Him for eternity, so that we will please the heavenly Father like Christ our Lord pleased His Father. It was His personal obedience to the Father which is the greatest example for us to follow. He is the True Shepherd, who laid down His life for His sheep. There is no one like Him on this Earth. It's worth giving up our lives for Him alone. We want to do His will at all costs, even if it means being persecuted.
Like the apostles of Christ, we do not want a 'free of charge' resurrection. We want to pay for it with our lives. We value our resurrection of the "righteous in Christ" much more than anything else because this is the only valuable thing that will make us live with Him for eternity- to be found as one of them in the "resurrection of the righteous".We don't know if we are worthy of that, but we have this blessed hope in Christ that He will consider us.
Philippians 3:7-11
But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ--the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
