by Charles R. Swindoll
Hebrews 11:35--39
Greathearted, loving, caring, sacrificial servants of the
living God have known ill treatment down through the centuries. The consequence
of serving is no new phenomenon. It goes a long way back in time.
I'm not aware of a more moving section of Scripture than
these verses out of Hebrews 11, which declare the reality of the consequences
of serving:
And some women, through faith, received their loved ones
back again from death. But others trusted God and were beaten to death,
preferring to die rather than turn from God and be free---trusting that they
would rise to a better life afterwards. Some were laughed at and their backs
cut open with whips, and others were chained in dungeons. Some died by stoning
and some by being sawed in two; others were promised freedom if they would
renounce their faith, then were killed with the sword. Some went about in skins
of sheep and goats, wandering over deserts and mountains, hiding in dens and
caves. They were hungry and sick and ill-treated---too good for this world. And
these men of faith, though they trusted God and won his approval, none of them
received all that God had promised them. (Hebrews 11:35--39 TLB)
Tortured. Rejected. Threatened. Hungry. Sick. Martyred.
People who were "too good for this world" were kicked around like big
rag dolls . . . even though they gave and they served. If it happened to
them---need I say more? Yes, maybe I should.
My major goal in my upcoming posts is to help prepare you
for the inevitable. Bitterness is often bred in a context of disillusionment.
Many a Christian, regrettably, is sidelined today, eaten up by the acid of
resentment and bitterness, because he or she was mistreated after doing what
was right. My hope for you is that you will be preserved from the paralyzing
sting of bitterness and disillusionment.
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