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Bible Reading Plan

Reading Plan: John 13:34-35

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

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Daily Devotional: Bully faith.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,

    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Matthew 5:10-12

The other day when I was scrolling through our town’s unofficial moms’ group on Facebook, I saw a post from a concerned mother who wrote about an incident at school between her 10-year-old daughter and a couple of her Christian friends. Her daughter’s friends told her that because she didn’t believe in Jesus, she wouldn’t go to Heaven. Her daughter was understandably upset, and the mom wasn’t sure what to do. So she wrote this post asking the 7,000+ members of the page what their “knee-jerk reaction” was to something like this.

When I read this post, my heart sank for everyone involved. And then I read the comments… There were quite a few encouraging posts about how to engage in a thoughtful conversation with her daughter and how to comfort her. There were even more comments that said this interaction was bullying, and they urged the mother to involve the school administration. And while I don’t know what the mom decided to do, the whole exchange made me reflect and consider the place we find ourselves as a culture—and as Christians. 

Jesus’ call to go and make disciples is clear and bold, but what happens when it’s met with pushback? When was the last time you shared your faith? When was the last time I did? I have a 10-year-old daughter who loves God and her friends, and when I read the Facebook post, I couldn’t help but wonder if it was my girl. Her heart would be undoubtedly pure, but would I be called into school and potentially face bullying accusations? As Christ followers, this climate can be really intimidating.

It might seem easy to take the Beatitudes and apply them to our current circumstances, but in Jesus’ day, His disciples experienced extreme persecution—the type our American Christian understanding can struggle to relate to. But, if we claim Jesus as our Savior and apply His counter-cultural teachings in every area of life, chances are we will get some pushback from society. It’s not a bad thing—Jesus said we should expect it, and even be blessed because of it. 

This whole incident made me consider how I would handle such a situation. While I’m not entirely sure what I would do, I hope I would take a humble posture and allow the Holy Spirit to empower me to be salt and light in the situation, even if it meant people misunderstanding my daughter and me. 

Regardless of the trials and resistance we experience, I pray that we would slow down, refuse to power up or fight back, and endeavor to humbly live the Jesus Way.

Next Steps

Have you experienced rejection for your faith? Or, does fear of rejection affect your obedience to Jesus? Today, let’s pray for courage to walk humbly with Jesus in all areas of our lives and to lovingly be the salt and light He declares us to be.