Everyone wants to be accepted. Everyone longs to be loved. But just as none of us can please everyone all of the time, so too some of us find that sometimes we can’t please anyone.
That was certainly the experience of Jesus’ parents when they arrived in Bethlehem. Because despite being described by the angel as highly favoured, Mary and her husband, who had himself been blessed by an angelic visitation, found themselves being turned away from who knows how many places that could have offered them a bed for the night. And so they ended up, having their firstborn in accommodation more suited to a beast of burden than the sovereign Lord of the universe. [Luke 2:7]
But despite being rejected by society, Mary and Joseph fulfilled the purpose that God had ordained for them – one that, despite their faithfulness, caused them to be spurned in the way that they were.
And so we should not be too surprised if followers of Jesus sometimes find themselves similarly marginalised. Not, perhaps, for doing the good works that God continues to prepare for them to do [Ephesians 2:10], for such acts are generally still appreciated – but for the things that they can’t help but believe and express.
Because there are in this world those who will not tolerate such things being considered true or conveyed to others as such – neither in the public square, nor, increasingly, in the privacy of one’s own home.
There are then some who, tragically, are unwilling to hear good news — and some, sadly, who even try to prevent others from hearing it.
And Christians can expect to be persecuted – as Jesus himself predicted they would be. [John 15:20] Which, given His own experience, is perhaps not surprising.
For neither was Jesus despised for healing the sick or bringing the dead back to life. Rather, willing as he was to forgive sins, it was for saying that, as God, He had the authority to do so, that He ended up being nailed to a cross.
Where then is the hope in the face of such persecution?
Well, simply in the fact that, just as Jesus endured the cross for the joy set before Him, so too can His persevering disciples look forward to entering into the joy of their master where they will hear Him say, as both Mary and Joseph surely already have, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.’ [Matthew 25:21]
For those who are rejected by the world, it will of course be painful. But to be forever accepted, in Christ, and comforted by the God of all comfort, will be more than adequate compensation.
For He is the one who will never leave us or forsake us. [Hebrews 13:5]
To read Day 8 from 2023, click here
To read Day 8 from 2024, click here
Some musings 