Jesus said to the crowd:"They will seize and persecute you,they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons,and they will have you led before kings and governorsbecause of my name.It will lead to your giving testimony.Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand,for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speakingthat all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute.You will even be handed over by parents,brothers, relatives, and friends,and they will put some of you to death.You will be hated by all because of my name,but not a hair on your head will be destroyed.By your perseverance you will secure your lives."
REFLECTION
"By your perseverance you will secure your lives."
C.S. Lewis once said, " To love at all is to be vulnerable".
We all have a thirst to be loved and a relentless desire to love. It is built in us by God. We are made to have this relationship of receiving and giving love. Trust opens the door of the heart to this incoming and outgoing flow of love. But we can still be quite vulnerable.
God did not create us on a whim, impulse nor as a passing thought. Because He willed us, He continues to love us. He calls us to trust Him. The deeper the relationship, deeper the trust.
Unfortunately our experience with love and trust is skewed when witnessed on a human level. But Jesus reassures us that He will never leave us nor take away His love.
There will be enemies, friends and even family members who will persecute us because of God. They will break friendships, avoid us, talk bad about us, poke fun or do the famous "roll of the eyes" when we speak, believe or think differently than they. Some may even run away from us. Society will ostracize us and we will be alienated from those we love for not being modern in thinking.
Jesus promises that if we follow Him, not a hair on our head will be destroyed. He will never leave us and will give us the wisdom to speak and respond to the naysayers.
Trust in Him conquers the storms of my life ("Jesus rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Quiet! Be still" Mark 4:39). His majestic love for me gives me the strength to persevere. I choose to trust in the Lord because He is God and therefore am glad to rejoice in His love.
Remain faithful until death, and God will give you the crown of life.
