Acts 14:19 – But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having won over the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, thinking that he was dead.

If you think that becoming a Christian is going to make you popular and bring you into a place of being everyone’s favorite you might want to take another look at some of the stories in the Bible. Joseph stepped into the anointing and was sold into slavery, Isaiah prophesied about the coming kingdom of God and the birth of Messiah, it is said that he was actually sawn in two. Then of course there was Jesus who was crucified, Peter who was crucified upside down, and of course Paul who was beheaded. You probably won’t face martyrdom but if you follow Christ you will definitely create some enemies. Here is how Chrysostom described this characteristic of Christianity.

“Believe me, it is possible to suffer things now worse than what Paul suffered. Those enemies pelted him with stones, but it is now possible to pelt with words that are worse than stone. What then must one do? The same that he did. He did not hate those who cast the stones. After they dragged him out, he entered their city again, to be a benefactor to those who had done him such wrongs. If you too had endured the one who harshly insulted you and done you wrongs, you too would have been stoned. For do not say “I have done him no wrong.” For what wrong had Paul done to be stoned? He was announcing a kingdom, he was leading them away from error and bringing them to God. Such things are worthy of crowns, worthy of proclamations by heralds, worthy of ten thousand good things, not worthy of stones. And yet having suffered the opposite, he did the opposite to what was expected. For this is the splendid victory.”

Joseph, like Paul, set the perfect example for all of us. When Joseph’s brothers feared that Joseph would retaliate Joseph replied, “you meant all of this for evil but God meant it for good”. Joseph’s belief in the sovereignty of God helped him overcome all of the obstacles. He saw these horrible events as God’s pathway to fulfill God’s plan for his life. At the end of it all God’s grace is sufficient to satisfy and keep us until the end.