“Rejoice and be exceeding glad,” sounds like a wonderful idea. Wouldn’t we all like to “rejoice and be exceeding glad?” Anyone who read just that phrase would be excited at the prospect.
The context however might be a little “put-offish.” Jesus said that we should rejoice and be exceeding glad when we are persecuted and reviled for His sake. Now we see one of the great paradoxes – when persecution comes for Jesus’ sake we are to rejoice!
It just doesn’t seem to make sense. Rejoice in persecution? How are we supposed to do that?
The key here, like so often, is looking beyond the present circumstances to what God is going to accomplish. We are not going to fit into this world – full stop. People are not going to get it, and eventually our stand for Christ may make it difficult as we face persecution.
What do we do? Rejoice, our reward in heaven is great, and beside – it has already happened to others!
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