I watched a grown man, husband, and father be baptized today. It was a powerful moment, and I postulate that choosing to be a Christian is a significant act of bravery.
If one does an internet search for lists of greatest fears, the words loneliness, rejection, ridicule, and failure are on nearly every list. Humans fear rejection. It is painful, and destructive, and our natural inclination is to avoid it at all cost.
Jesus commands us to reject that fear:
Luke 6:22 (NIV) “Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.”
Instead, in the next verse, He tells us to rejoice in our rejection:
Luke 6:23 (NIV) “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.”
Approximately three years ago, Sharon and I professed our faith in Christ and Christ alone, and rejected our former faith in a system of religion. Since that time, we have been rejected, insulted, and excluded by many family members, and most of our former friends.
Inexplicably, those three years have been the most joyful and friend-filled years of both our lives.
Halleluiah! Jesus promised he would not leave us alone. John 14:18
Praise be to you God! You ask us to do the impossible, and then you give us more than enough strength to accomplish it.
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