“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Matthew 5:10-12

You might ask what the verses above from the Beatitudes recorded in the Sermon on the Mount have to do with faith, but the Beatitudes are everything about faith.

On Wednesday night, Patrina and I sat with a Bible study group where we discussed a recent sermon that introduced the Beatitudes. Most of the comments we heard were about the poor in spirit, the meek and those that hunger and thirst for righteousness being filled, but given the events of the last day or so, my mind hasn’t been able to shake the verses above.

How many of us feel “blessed” when we are persecuted or reviled or lied about? I think the key here is when we are persecuted on behalf of our faith in Christ, when we stand for what is good and right and true.

I am reminded of Luke’s writing about the experience of the apostles who were jailed and threatened to not speak of Jesus. Their response was one of respectful disobedience.

But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”

Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.

Acts 5:29-32, 41

There is a line that we must not cross in our walk of faith. “We must obey God rather than men.”