It’s Not Going to be Easy



Matthew 10:16-23
16“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.
17Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues,
18and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles.
19When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour.
20For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
21Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death,
22and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
23When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

When I was a kid I listened to a great deal of country music. This was not my choice. But my dad loves country music and so in 1970 I was introduced to a song call “I Never Promised You a Rose Garden” by Joe South, recorded by Lynn Anderson. Now this song is not particularly theological. In fact, it is typically country, about broken relationships and our ability to hurt one another. But, the chorus of that song rings through my mind when I come across verses like we have for today’s reading.

I beg your pardon I never promised you a rose garden
Along with the sunshine there's gotta be a little rain sometime
When you take you gotta give so live and let live and let go oh oh oh oh
I beg your pardon I never promised you a rose garden

There are many people both inside of Christianity and out who believe that somewhere along the line, God promises us a happy and easy life if we will but believe in Him. I’m not sure where they get that idea, for it is stated nowhere in the Bible. Our verses for today fly in the face of that idea and the opposite is actually true. God promises us that life with Him will indeed sometimes be extremely difficult. So why would we even get on board that train? Because along with difficult, it is also filled with joy.

As Jesus continues to train up The Twelve, he warns them of what is to come as they seek to spread His message. There will be many who will not appreciate the message or the messenger. There will be persecution and trouble. For those in the United States, that is not yet completely true although we are facing greater negative pressure every day. But there are many around the globe for who a declaration of faith may mean imprisonment, beatings, or death. And those persecutions can even come from within our own families. For those living inside of the Middle East, to become a Christian may mean that your family abandons you or treats you as dead.

As a part of His instruction, Jesus reminds us that we have to live with some internal tensions. We are to be as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves. That means we deport ourselves with gentleness and humility while not allowing ourselves to be abused or tricked. Tension. I think it also means that we seek our shelter in Jesus while allowing Him to empower our witness.  “For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” When you get it right and speak truth and grace to someone, don’t take the credit for the glory always belongs to God. His Holy Spirit will come and enable every word you need to speak if you’re willing to let Him use your voice. Finally, we need to get about the task at hand for our time is short.

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