11 Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Or, as paraphrased in The Message: “You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom. 11 Not only that – count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close to comfort and they are uncomfortable. 12 You can be glad when that happens – give a cheer, even! – for though they don’t like it, I do! And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble.”

The world doesn’t like what God has to say. Do you? Think about the implications of your answer. A no means you’re thinking like the world. Anything like “I like part of it, but only part, forget the rest, it’s to restrictive, to confining, requires to much of me” is a no. An I disagree with this our that us a no. God doesn’t give us an option to partly believe.

A yes though means you’ve realigned your life. A yes means that even though His words call you out, call out your sinful ways, you still crave to hear them, read them, study them. There is such love in the words, such peace, such joy, such a wonderful life. Just like children are way more well adjusted and secure when raised with boundaries, so are we adults.

Yes, it’s a life of being martyred, jailed, marginalized, muzzled, called a narrow minded bigot, simpleton, hypocrite, and so forth. This is nothing new.

Read the words again. Think about this: you’re blessed when your commitment to God causes the world, Satan, to attack you. Heaven cries at your pain and rejoices in your faith.

Please don’t be halfway because only all the way works. Please don’t say no to God without studying Him intensely. Please don’t be afraid of discomfort here on earth; don’t let that get in the way of eternal party and joy that is waiting for us in heaven.