Having the right expectations really matters. Just think about the expectations with which you entered into:
- High School
- College
- Marriage
- Your spouse’s extended family
- Your first full-time job
In this rare and wonderful nation you could be a serious, Bible-believing, Evangelical Christian and run a corporation, teach in a university, become wealthy, make a movie or run for office.
Most Christ-followers who have ever lived would be amazed by this.
Suddenly, it seems as if everything has changed. The simmering contempt for Jesus’ followers which was always there is now boiling over. It’s in style to trash Christians.
Without scolding anyone for their unrealistic expectations, I want to gently remind my readers of what Jesus and the Apostles (the “founding fathers” of the faith) said we should expect:
Jesus – If we manifest the “beatitudes,” the amazing character traits which he described in his first big public sermon, the inevitable result for us would be insults, slander and persecution. Matthew 5:1-12
Later in his ministry (John 15), Jesus described the ideal Christian life as abiding in him. Such a life would result in eternal usefulness (bearing fruit), answered prayer, the enjoyment of God’s love and the experience of as much joy as is humanly possible.
And, oh yeah, the other result will be hatred from the same world system that first hated him. It’s funny how we preach the first half of the chapter (vss. 1-17) and neglect the second half (vss. 18-27).
Paul – The Apostle of Bluntness said that:
- It is a privilege granted to all Christians that we will suffer for the name of Christ (Philippians 1:29).
- There will increasingly be “terrible times” as the return of Christ draws near (II Timothy 3:1), and “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted…” (II Timothy 3:12).
The writer to the Hebrews insisted that all true believers must endure the sometimes-tough discipline (training) of God (Hebrews 12:1-11). The context shows us that the writer was thinking specifically of insults (10:33), persecution (10:33), imprisonment (10:34), the confiscation of property (10:34), and potentially, bloodshed (12:4).
James, the half-brother of Jesus, spoke of wealthy people dragging impoverished disciples of Jesus into court (James 2:6,7).
Peter said that we should not be surprised (I Peter 4:12) by our painful trials, as if something strange is happening to us, but should rather expect suffering (I Peter 4:13) and insults (4:14). We should also count on accusations of wrongdoing (I Peter 2:12), malicious slander (I Peter 3:16) and verbal abuse for our refusal to join unbelievers in dissipating (behaviors that take a toll on you) forms of sin (I Peter 4:4).
John said that the whole world lies under the control of the Evil one (I John 5:19) and that the Antichrist and antichrists (plural) are coming into the world (I John 4:1-3).
I don’t know how to say this nicely, but there’s a sense in which we American believers are behaving like spoiled, pampered, children of God who didn’t think we should ever have to suffer.
The first Christians prayed for boldness, not relief, in the midst of their suffering (Acts 4:29), and rejoiced that they were counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name of Christ (Acts 5:41).
This is our example. This should be our expectation.
