"Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved."
Matthew 10:21-22
Christians can sometimes be on the receiving end of hate and ridicule. Jesus foresaw this and warned the early believers and consequently us of the opposition that we will receive for our faith, but He also assures us that He has overcome the same rejection we receive from the world.
The world has often regarded Christianity as a dangerous faith, not because it poses a threat and violence in the physical, but because it breaks down and destroys the principalities of this world. Romans 12:2 calls us, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."
In a world that desires to see more conforming and mediocre people, Jesus calls those who truly follow Him to go against the tide and stand in perseverance and integrity, going against ideologies that challenge God's view of goodness. The Christian faith has always been a challenge to the world because it calls us to act in ways that are uncommon - to lead by serving, to pursue righteousness over convenience, to deny other gods, to love even the unlovable and to respond to grace even if we are insulted in the process.
One story in the Bible that shows this is an account of a riot started against Christians, described in Acts 19:23-14. After Paul calls people to turn to Christ and reject idols, a blacksmith who specialised in creating figures of the goddess Artemis calls followers of the Greek idol to stand against Christians because he was losing business.
There will always be opposition to Christianity because it calls people to go against the norm, but Jesus promises us that we will never be alone in doing so. In Matthew 28:20, He says, "... And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
If you're a Christian who truly follows Jesus and God's will, opposition is a given. But know that as you go and follow Christ and share to other people the blessing that comes through Him, no weapon formed against you shall prosper and in the end, we have a prize waiting for us and that prize is to be with God himself for all eternity.
