(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)
“Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem,
see now and know;
seek in the open places
if you can find a man,
if there is any who executes justice, who seeks the truth,
that I may pardon her.
Though they say, “The Lord lives,”
surely they swear falsely.
O Lord, are not Your eyes upon the truth?
You have stricken them, but they have not grieved.
You have consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction.
They have made their faces harder than a rock;
they have refused to return.
Therefore I said, “Surely these are the poor.
They are foolish;
for they know not the way of the Lord
or the judgment of their God.”
(Jeremiah 5:1-4)
“The fool has said in his heart,
“There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds,
there is none who does good.
The Lord looks down from heaven
on the children of men,
to see if there are any who understand,
who seek God.
They all turn aside,
together they become corrupt;
there is none who does good,
not even one.
Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge,
who eat my people as they eat bread,
but do not call on the Lord?
There they were in great fear,
for God is with the generation of the righteous.
You shame the counsel of the poor,
but the Lord is his refuge.
Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come from Zion!
When the Lord turns back the captivity of His people,
Jacob will rejoice, and Israel will be glad.”
(Psalm 14)
“We sent Timothy, who is our brother and minister of God and our fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ, to establish and comfort you with regard to your faith, so that no one would be shaken by these afflictions. For you know that we are appointed to this. Indeed, we told you before when we were with you that we would suffer tribulation, just as it came to pass, as you well know. For this reason, when I could no longer endure it, I sent to inquire about your faith, lest by some means the tempter might have tempted you, and our labor might have been in vain. But just now Timothy has come from you to us and brought us good news of your faith and love, and that you always have good memories of us, desiring greatly to see us, as we also desire to see you. Therefore, brothers, during all our afflictions and distress, we have been encouraged about you through your faith. For now we live, if you stand strong in the Lord.”
(1 Thessalonians 3:2-8)
We are given chances to repent. God is MERCIFUL. He is GRACIOUS. He is LONGSUFFERING. But these chances are not forever. Sooner or later, God gives us what we are insisting on. If we harden our hearts, He will allow them to remain hardened. In fact, when judgment comes He will keep them hardened, not allowing us to suddenly try to change because we don’t like what the consequences of our heart’s true choice is. This is what happened with the Pharaoh who would not let the Israelites leave. This is also what was about to happen to the residents of Jerusalem who were insisting on worshipping idols and looking to others for their sustenance instead of keeping covenant with God. Yet if even ONE person in Jerusalem had been faithful and seeking Him, things would have been very different for that city.
The Hebrew word for fool (naval) means someone who is both morally and intellectually deficient. Only someone lacking in intelligence refuses to apply it. Refuses to see that lack of honour, lack of decency, and a desire for objective evil over objective good are not to be desired. Only someone who refuses to truly observe creation and see there IS a creator would choose this thinking. Only someone who chooses to lack the better things in life chooses to live this way. We change circumstances around us so that we don’t feel shame or guilt – things we naturally feel when we are doing wrong. We say that other people are forcing us to feel this way and we persecute them – all because we won’t use our intellect to see what is true apart from how we feel. Only a fool thinks this way. The wise realize that what we feel doesn’t make anything true. The wise realize there is a creator. The wise realize that if there is a creator there is objective truth. The wise realize that if there is objective truth there is objective morality. The wise realize shame and guilt is our inner selves telling us that what we are doing/thinking/feeling/saying is violating that objective morality. Only the wise can see that, and only the fool rejects it.
When humanity is faced with God, humanity is terrified. Not wanting to feel guilt, shame, and fear, they lash out at those who follow God. They seek to kill the messenger in the hope that the message will then change, or be lost. That if they kill the voice they are hearing speaking truth, they will be able to determine the truth for themselves. It is a fool’s errand. But we have done it again and again. The Thessalonians witnessed Paul being persecuted – after he warned them it was coming. They faced persecution of their own. But they chose to stand against the fools who were fighting God’s message. They chose NOT to harden their hearts. They chose to remain faithful to God and His message no matter what and Paul was grateful and thankful for their stand.
Summary
We are not persecuted because there is something wrong with us. We are persecuted because people don’t want to feel guilt, shame, discomfort, or fear. People don’t like being confronted with the Light of Jesus because they realize – even on a subconscious level – that they are wrong. No one likes to feel wrong. So they persecute those whom Jesus lives within. They persecute and restrict and try to strangle the message. They try to eliminate the Light. They try to pretend that light needs darkness to exist. That darkness is comforting. That it is neccessary. Even that it is a good thing. They persecute and we need to be aware they are trying to persecute Jesus, not being personally attacking toward ourselves. Persecution will come, but we can stand in Jesus. We can get strength from God. We can be firm in our resolution to speak the truth. We can rely on Him to provide for us, guide us, and keep us where we need to be and doing what we need to do because we are obedient, submitted, and looking to Him for everything. Don’t give up. Don’t give in. Keep loving them. Keep speaking truth. Keep proclaiming Jesus. When it gets hard, we get praying. Seek God. Seek guidance. Rely on Him. Day and night. Night and day. Keep God first.
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