Luke 6:22-23 Blessed are you, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you… I. WE CANNOT BE SERVANTS OF JESUS WITHOUT SUFFERING. The contrast between the natural heart and the ideal Christian is not less marked to-day than it was eighteen hundred years ago. Nothing kindles so much hatred as evangelical love. II. According to the Saviour's declaration, SUFFERING IS A SOURCE OF HAPPINESS. 1. It is a happiness to suffer for a noble cause. 2. The fact that suffering for truth brings with it its own reward is also a reason for joy, as it ensures the triumph of our cause. 3. "Your reward is great in heaven," said the Master, thus adding the consolation of a glorious hope to those which flow from duty performed. 4. This triumph of truth in heaven is not enough. It must have its glorious revenge on the very theatre of its humiliations and conflicts. The world must see how mistaken it was in rejecting it, and one day it will be forced to exclaim, "O Galilean, Thou hast overcome." (E. de Pressense, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. |
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