WOUNDED IN ACTION

   And Jesus said, Think not that I am come to send peace on earth:  I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.  And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me:  and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.  (Gospel of Matthew 10: 34-37)
   Today, let me share with you the truth of these words of Jesus, which is also a testimony for the truth of God's Word. 
   If you take a stand for Christ to speak the truth about Him, you can expect conflict, and this will help you to know this; therefore, if you believe the Lord is leading you in a ministry, no matter if it is to teach a Sunday school class, to become a missionary, to become a minister or preacher, to enter a music ministry, or even to write a blog about Christ, you can expect that people you know will not agree with your decision and your commitment to the Lord.  Not every person agreed with Christ, while He was on the earth, and not every person you know will agree with your postition with Him.
   People in your own family and people you believe are your friends will turn against you.  They will find fault with you.  They will doubt that the Lord would call you to do anything. They will operate behind your back and instigate trouble for you. 
   The reason this will happen is because people in your family and your friends do not know Christ as you know the Lord; for their behavior against you will be the evidence of their unbelief.  And your stand for Christ will expose the truth of their hearts. 
   For if your family and friends truly support you in your endeavor, they will give you words of encouragement and they will tell you they are praying for you.  They will be happy for you. But because they have no words of encouragement or prayers for you, they are against you; and they are against you because they are against Christ.  For as they shoot the messenger in the foot, they are also shooting the Message, which is Christ the Lord.
  Knowing this will also help you in another way.  The Lord allows these things to happen for our own maturity in Him, for conflicts will help us to get closer to Christ and to pray.  Conflicts will strengthen us.  Even though it hurts when friends and family turn against us, please remember that it is not you and I that people are against:  it is Christ.
   Remember, too, that when Jesus began His ministry, there were people in His hometown who did not believe that He was Messiah.  These were people who had known Him all of His life.  So Jesus departed Nazareth and took His message elsewhere.  As a result, the whole world has come to know the name of Jesus!  Whereas if He had quit because He got His feelings hurt, He would have never made it to the cross to die for our sins.
   Know, then, that you and I will get our feelings hurt from time to time---by people we know---but do not quit. As soldiers, we know that we are going to get wounded in action, but we must be able to take the pain.  Count it for joy because these conflicts is the evidence that we are doing the will of God!
   Therefore, stay in prayer and stand strong, and keep pressing onward, looking forward:  for we know that Christ has already won the war!