Endurance

It is hard to finish hard matters. Sports have a season. Life however has no off season and being hated or mistreated can last a life time. God, a loving Father, calls us to prepare our hearts to deal with a life time of hate. I got this from considering the Matt. 10:22 passage. Why did Jesus give such a hard word to such good followers?

Matthew 10:22
Everyone will hate you because of me. But if you remain faithful until the end, you will be saved.

“Everyone”, really everyone! Why not just be hated by a few messed up people. Why prepare our hearts for total rejection? But if I consider the original hearers of this message, I can understand better. These guys (people) in the text are betraying their ancient religion, they are deserting their family traditions, and through their actions they are boasting that Jesus is the right way. These actions imply that the old way is not longer right, somebody is wrong. So they broke with culture, business, family and faith. They were hated men.

Have you ever given in, compromised on some issue that God has called you to stand for? Have you ever given in on a purchase, or yielded to a choice that you knew was wrong? Yet enduring in “easy stuff”, stuff that should be easy to do because in the big picture it is not all that important, is still hard. Sure there are seasons of wisdom from God where we yield in love and restoration. Sure there are many times when we don’t make an issue of everything. But do we still have an enduring faith? Are we willing to be hated?

The hatred of our time is very crafty. It belittles in small crowds, mocks through “innocent humor”, shames through self-promotion and worships success. Hatred in our day neglects the needs of others, avoids the awkward and fails to listen to the broken and wounded. Hatred in our time does not want to totally cast you out, but rather keep us just close enough to keep hurting you. Even if, by the world’s standards you are a great person, criticism, judgments and ridicule will be ever present in your life. Gird yourself up.

There are two places (maybe three) where words are said that help us endure long. The most important place where words of endurance are spoken is in the garden of our inner man. In this place the Lord meets with us and prepares our life for living. In the inner place, eternal words and thoughts begin to reach the heart and a person advances from contemplation to transformation. What happens in this secret place is foundational to what we do or say. Abiding with God is critical for our personal endurance.

Secondly there is the place of family – both biological and spiritual. Family is the secret place in our society and culture. It is a garden dwelling where truth and accountability knock on our heart of behavior and mindsets. True the family is often a battle ground or rejection and hatred, but God’s heart is to restore family, not avoid it. Building a good family, both spiritual and biological, is like building a garden dwelling that will have years of fruitfulness.

Prepare your life to deal with hatred and rejection. Not by building a fortress to hide away in, but a garden to delight in. One is a prison of protection, the other a public display of eternal beauty.