Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
Jesus told us not only to be glad, but rejoice with exultation when people lie about us and ridicule us and malign us, for His sake (Matt. 5:11, 12). Why? He gives two reasons: (1) We have (present tense) a great reward in heaven, and (2) we have fellowship with the prophets of old who were persecuted. But how can that be? They are dead! How can you fellowship with someone who's dead?
Not through Spiritualism, no! But you can appreciate the experiences that the prophets like Jeremiah or John the Baptist went through. In a very real sense, through the Bible you develop a rapport with them, you identify with them. You actually make their acquaintance in such a way that when you do finally enter the gates of the New Jerusalem, they will seem to you like old friends. And better still, when they meet you, they will look in your face and see the development of character that will cause them to say to you, "Oh, YOU understand! YOU know what I went through! Let's sit down and talk, for we have something in common!" You will feel like you are a prince in the kingdom of heaven, and when Jesus gives out the awards to those who have suffered for His sake, you will be standing right there side by side with Jeremiah or John the Baptist, or Paul, and you will feel right at home like you belong there, as one of the inner circle. What a thrill!
That "great reward" that Jesus spoke of is not only a thing of the future; He made plain that it is present tense. You have that consciousness of fellowship even now, that you belong in their company, that you are "accepted" in such truly high society! Condemned on this earth, but honored by heaven! And that gives you a deep sense of humbleness, yes; but also a holy joy at the realization that you are not entering heaven like a dog with its tail between its legs, merely surviving, merely existing there; but as a prince and princess of the Realm! Take heart for all this Good News!
--Robert J. Wieland
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: June 7, 1998.
Copyright © 2012 by "Dial Daily Bread."
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