I was reading today 1 Peter 4:14, “If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory, which is the Spirit of God, is resting on you.” (NRSV) I can never honestly say that I have been “reviled” for the name of Christ. Indeed, I'm not sure I've even had so much as an insult thrown at me. Does that mean that the Spirit of God isn't resting on me? No. But it does mean that if or when this ever does happen, I can remember these words and remember the encouragement in them.

But what of the believers that have never read these words? They go about their day, and potentially have been insulted regularly for hours throughout their workplace. Some of them may come home without a job anymore. Some have been taunted at school. What if they had never read these words? Can you imagine the encouragement that they could receive after a hard day of taunts, to sit down and read that it was all because “the Spirit of God is resting on you?” That encouragement brings life, the life that comes from God alone. It is a spiritual life, and it is the living water that we drink, the water of encouragement and life that the Spirit gives. It is this river that then flows through us onto others. For the encouragement received from these words wouldn't stop with that believer, but he would then share them with his wife, child, or neighbor to also encourage them to stand strong through another day of torment, another day for our Lord.

“Yet if any of you suffers as a Christian, do not consider it a disgrace, but glorify God because you bear this name.” 1 Pet. 4:16 NRSV