Bible
Study: Revelations 15, 1
to 9 and Luke 21, 12 to 19.
Our people have a saying that: It is the person who is pursuing you that
eventually shows you the way to promotion in life. Meaning: You should thank
your enemies because if not for them, you might not have advanced to where you
are today. Dear friends, these words may be difficult to understand, but they are
true. When people are against us and begin to try all means of pulling us down,
they only succeed in raising us higher.
Never pray that your enemies should die, instead pray that the evil they
melt out to you would be to your advantage in the long run. The truth is that
we cannot avoid the hatred of others, no matter how good we are, people would still
hate us. Even Jesus makes the point clear in today’s Gospel passage: “They will
seize and persecute you, they will hand you over to the synagogues and to
prisons…. You will even be handed over by parents, brothers, relatives, and
friends, and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all
because of my name.”
If you have never experienced the hatred of others, then you are lucky. I
have seen hatred first hand. I know what it means to have even a person you
once thought was your personal person turn around against you to witch-hunt you
to the extent of even making others hate you. I know what it means for a person
you used to eat from the same plate suddenly blacklist you all because of your
choice to live as a child of the light.
But even as Jesus was saying this, he also added that the victory is
already ours. “But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance, you
will gain your lives.” When they thought they would finish you, God will use
the finishing they planned to conclude your promotion. The very incidence that
made you shed tears will one day become your cause for joy.
Do not return hatred for hatred. Even the book of Proverbs said: “If
your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he is thirsty, give him
water to drink; for you will heap coals of fire on his head, and the LORD will
reward you.” Proverbs 25, 21 to 22.
In fact, as at the time John was writing the book of Revelation, Christians
in the Roman Empire were passing through the most bloody persecution ever Emperor
Diocletan. Yet, John did not fail to write of their eventual triumph. “And I
saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who had
conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside
the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands.” Revelation 15, 2.
By “those who had conquered the beast” John was referring to those who
refuse to deny Christ under the great persecution, those who refused to change
their religion; those who by their death have won eternal life for themselves. Dear
friends, never give up on your goodness, sorrow may last in the night but
surely, I bet you, surely, surely, joy will come in the morning!
Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, may I endure to the end. Amen.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith.
It is well with you. God bless you.
Fr. Abu.
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