Thursday, June 28, 2018

God's Favor (6)

God favors those who are persecuted. But he does not just favor the persecuted, he favors those who give him their allegiance, who become a part of his family, and are persecuted for that.

There are places in the world, where giving allegiance to Jesus, means a life of trouble. Because God's children choose to follow him, they usually begin to move in a direction that is different from the flow of the surrounding culture. And those in that culture will either view them as weird, or as traitors.

The world has always been hard on those who seek to know God. And the enemy pushes hard to promote this attitude. He considers it to be in his best interest, if no one seeks for God, or lives for God.

And if he cannot keep people away form God, he will try to keep them quiet.

And by quiet, I do not mean he is trying to stop God's children from yelling "The world is bad! The world is bad!" The world will just pay no attention to that. He is trying to stop people from yelling "God is good! God is good!"

He is trying to stop faith. He is trying to stop love. He is trying to disrupt God's relationship with his people, and their relationship with one another. He is trying to prevent God's children from accurately demonstrating God's character.

What if, in the midst of being treated badly, God's children persist in:
  • Walking with the Father;
  • Engaging in practices that expand the Father's influence in their lives, and through them to the world;
  • Loving each other;
  • Loving those who do not have a relationship with the Father … especially those actively engaging in persecution;
  • Seeking God's best for society, and the world. 

In a world, where such practices run counter to every instinct that humanity has, but copies Jesus' lifestyle, and follows God's way of love, is it any wonder that God favors, and delights in his children.



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