Let us see to it that we bear the reproaches of Christ as He bore them—with pity and prayer for the erring and depraved, if perchance God may grant them repentance; and with humble fortitude esteeming it a privilege to prove our devotion to the Lord by enduring hardness in His service as good soldiers. He was not surprised by the exhibitions of human depravity; He knew that He was in an unfriendly world bound by sin and largely under the dominion of the prince of darkness, and therefore He expected reproaches, taunts and persecutions, all of which He endured patiently while His great loving heart, almost unmindful of its own sufferings, was full of pity and loving concern for others.
Misrepresentation of our Heavenly Father's character by the Adversary's delusions and misunderstandings of His purpose through humanity's sinfulness and ignorance, make Him the reproach of the irreligious. Those who take His part as His true people for His sake bear in His defense reproaches from the same persons, but not necessarily nor usually with the same things.
REPRINTS
Psa. 69:9; Mark 12:35-40; Luke 12:50; Rom. 6:1-11; 8:10, 17, 18; 15:2, 3; 1 Cor. 15:29-34; 2 Cor. 1:5; 4:8—5:9; Gal. 2:20; Phil. 3:10; Col. 1:24; 2:11, 12; 2 Tim. 2:10-12; 1 Pet. 2:19-24; 3:13-18; 4:12-19.
