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Like Our Heroes?

             Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:11-12)

          The blessing isn’t magical. God doesn’t necessarily look at a person who is being persecuted and say, “Poor thing. I think I’ll bless her.” He can. Of course, He can. But that’s not the only way to understand this passage, and it may not be the best way. Blessings don’t have to be “magical.”

          Jesus referred to the prophets because they were included in the list of Jewish heroes. Don’t we all grow up wanting to be like our heroes? Even as adults, aren’t there folks we wish we could be or be like? The prophets were persecuted and killed, often by the Jews. I suspect if we read the story of most of the people we admire, we’ll find struggles and persecution.

          And if the struggles and persecution we’re facing is like the struggles and persecution they faced, then… “Congratulations! Be happy. Consider yourself blessed!” You may not have hit the mark, but you’re getting closer to being like the one you want to be like! But this is where we run into problems, and those problems are made worse by social media. We see the highlight reels about our heroes, and tend to tune out or treat as optional the lowlight parts of the story that make the highlights possible.

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