Daily Devotional for Saturday, December 24

Comfort in Persecution

Sometimes people really hate to see someone trying to do right. They get quite worked up when people try to improve themselves, and better their lot in life. Often, folks from rough backgrounds get labeled as being uppity, or thinking they are better than those from their lives. Sadly, some folks get a lot of grief just for trying to do the right thing. It is unfortunate that sometimes people think it is better to stay stuck in the bad situation they live in than to get out of it.
Sometimes, that can be the life of a Christian. When we accept the grace of God’s salvation and later try to live right, we can be subject to the things we just discussed. We can be labeled as uppity, and thinking we are better than others. Sometimes, no one is harder on a new believer than those in the life he is trying to leave behind.
On the other hand, sometimes we do come across as uppity, or thinking we are better than others; in that case, criticism may very well be deserved. If we act like sanctimonious finger pointers, we might say we have it coming. Our devotional verse tells us that our persecutions are a token of God’s righteous judgment. This matters. We are a picture to the world of the power of God to change lives; we are not a picture of how people can transform themselves and become better than everyone else.

JUST A THOUGHT: When we engage the world, it is important that we remember only Jesus can truly make us better people; left to our own devices, we are still the same sinners we always were.

Wally Fry