Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil for the Son of man’s sake.

Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in like manner did their fathers unto the prophets. (Luke 6:22-23)

Your reward is great in heaven…

Do you have faith in Christ? Has following Him ever cost you something? Has it earned you persecution? Have you ever obeyed Christ by going somewhere no one else was willing to go? Did you find that even those you thought to be godly, or spiritual suddenly wanted to seperate you from their company? Cast your name out as evil?

Your reward is great in heaven. Ah! But what help is that? Heaven is so far away… do I have to die to be blessed if I am persecuted, rejected, despised, alone?

The first preachers of the Gospel in Christ’s day declared: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (Matt. 3:2)

The kingdom of heaven is at hand. God’s kingdom is NOW. Yes, of course heaven is a place, but Christ’s coming was the coming of God’s kingdom – of heaven – here.

Great is your reward in heaven; your reward starts now! Are you afflicted? There is deliverance through the power of God’s kingdom. Are you alone? The fellowship of Christ is awaiting you.

Sometimes I feel such horrible loneliness I begin to fill with deep sadness, and then I recall:

…and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. (1 John 1:3b)

And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:

Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. (Luke 17:20-21)

God’s kingdom is within us. Should we put faith in the Truth of Christ’s teachings, we would be filled with such joy (John 15:11)!

God’s kingdom is now; is inside of us, and can never be taken away; our eternity begins now. Are we more mindful of worldly things, or of heavenly things? To a person who has already been blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places (Eph. 1:3), our attention to those blessings, or lack thereof is what will decide our level of joy in this life.

Are you rejected, despised, lonely?

Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.