If we were more like Christ
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"It is enough for the disciple—to be as his Master." Matthew 10:25
No one will dispute this statement, for it would be unfitting for the servant to be exalted above his Master.
When our Lord was on earth, what was the treatment He received? Were His claims acknowledged, His instructions followed, His perfections worshipped, by those whom He came to bless?
No!
"He was despised and rejected by men." His place was outside the camp! Cross-bearing was His occupation. Did the world yield Him solace and rest? "Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests—but the Son of man has nowhere to lay His head." This inhospitable world afforded Him no shelter—it cast Him out—and crucified Him!
So, if you are a follower of Jesus, and maintain a consistent, Christ-like walk and lifestyle—the world will treat you as they treated the Saviour—they will despise you!
Do not dream that worldling's will admire you—or that the more holy and the more Christ-like you are—the more peaceably people will act towards you. "If they have called the Master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of His household?" If we were more like Christ—we would be more hated by His enemies!
It would be a sad dishonour to a child of God—to be the world's favourite. It is a very bad sign—to hear a wicked world clap its hands and shout "Well done!" to the Christian man. He may begin to look to his character, and wonder whether he has not been doing wrong, when the ungodly give him their approbation. Let us be true to our Master, and have no friendship with a blind and base world which scorns and rejects Him! Far be it from us—to seek a crown of honour where our Lord found a coronet of thorns!
"If the world hates you, understand that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. However, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of it—the world hates you!" John 15:18-19
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