Moment of Meditation: Reviled (Matthew 5:11-12)

Blessed are you when others revile you
and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on My account.
Rejoice and be glad,
for your reward is great in Heaven,
for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
(Matthew 5:11-12)

Reviled

Being hated for your faith is nothing new. All the prophets of the Old Testament were reviled for their message. All but one of the Apostles were martyred for their faith. St. Paul has to defend his own honor to his congregations because others have come along and reviled and slandered him. "There is nothing new under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 1:9).

Persecution comes because of steadfast faith. No one is persecuted for mediocre faith. Think that God must have forsaken you because you're being persecuted? Think again! The persecution is the proof of God's presence. Who would say that God wasn't with the prophets? That He wasn't with the Apostles? No one.

Just as the prophets and Apostles, your reward will be great in Heaven. Your reward will be Heaven. What's some name-calling or injuries or even death compared to everlasting life? Not much if you ask me. Amen.