Command 3 : REJOICE | Day 15

Understand “The Program”!

A positive outlook on our daily circumstances is essential for success. However, if our perception makes no allowance for the ongoing conflict between good and evil and the ultimate triumph of good, we will be disillusioned. Thus, we are given the third command to rejoice.

Command Three: “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you" (Matthew 5:11-12).

The more we meditate on this command, the more we will tap into the rich treasures of God's way of life. These treasures are based on the premise that we will experience unexpected rewards and also bring spiritual life to "light haters" if we respond properly to their attacks.

When one becomes a follower of Jesus and ceases to do the things that worldly friends are doing, these friends will often feel guilty about their own evil ways. At that point they have a choice: either respond to the Holy Spirit's conviction of sin and repent or react to God's standards demonstrated in the believer's life.

Peter describes this conflict by stating that worldly friends will “think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you” (I Peter 4:4). Isaiah also spoke of this reaction when he said, “Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey” (Isaiah 59:15).

In spite of this vicious reaction, we are told to "rejoice, and be exceeding glad." Therefore, God knows something that we don't know about the great benefit and rewards of being reviled for doing good, and this is what we want to discuss this week.

One's emotional response when his good is evil spoken of reveals his level of maturity in the ways of God.

As a young boy I saw Matthew 5:11-12 in action. My father was the executive director of a civil engineering publishing company. The papers were in order for him to become the president and to enjoy a very high salary. He was the favorite of the outgoing boss, who would become the chairman of the board, until my father became a believer and was not able to participate in the promotion of things related to the liquor industry.

His good favor with the boss diminished, and soon he faced an ultimatum: either violate his conscience or leave his job. When he made the decision to leave the company, with a wife and six children to support and no prospect of a new job, he received further reviling from unexpected sources. In tomorrow's e-mail I will tell you what actually happened because of his decision.