Friday 8 June 2018
“Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me.”
Accept the fact that living as a witness will result in some people belittling you and treating you badly!
When you develop the lifestyle of a witness you will see all the different responses to Jesus (and therefore to you). There will be people whose hearts are ready, who are searching. These people will be eager to talk with you and to receive what you share with them as they journey towards Christ.
Others will be open to discuss these deeper things with you but not ready to respond to Christ yet. You are sowing seeds that will need time to germinate and develop in their hearts and minds.
Some will simply dismiss you as irrelevant. With these people, you should keep loving and looking for chances to go deeper. But recognise that their hearts are not open and you shouldn’t push it. Wait and pray for things to change.
But there will be some who are angry at God, or at the least, aggro about him. Because of that they will lash out at you with their words and try to put you down or make you seem stupid.
Accept it. It will happen. It won’t mean you’ve done something wrong or have been a bad witness. After all, it happened to Jesus and he did things right.
Here’s the thing to recognise: you will never have the conversations with those who are ready to respond to Jesus if you are not willing to have the conversations with those who reject you because they are rejecting him. As they say, “It comes with the territory!”
Pray for those people you know who seem to be resistant to or are rejecting Jesus at this point. Write their names here and ask God to help you show them his love:
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