Evening, November 10, edited from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

“It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher.” — Matthew 10:25

No one will dispute this statement, for it would be inappropriate for the servant to be dignified above his Master. When our Lord was on earth, what was the treatment he received? Were his claims acknowledged, his instructions followed, his perfection worshipped, by those whom he came to bless? No, “He was despised and forsaken of men.” Outside the camp was his place: cross-bearing was his occupation. Did the world yield him comfort and rest? “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” This inhospitable country afforded him no shelter: it cast him out and crucified him. If you are a follower of Jesus, and maintain a consistent, Christ-like walk and conversation–you must expect it to be the same way, when that part of your spiritual life which, in its outward development, comes under the observation of men. They will treat it as they treated the Savior–they will despise it. Do not dream that those in the world will admire you, or that the more holy and the more Christ-like you are, the more peaceably people will act towards you. They did not prize the polished gem, how much will they value the jewel in the rough? “If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household?” If we are more like Christ, we should be more hated by his enemies. It is a sad dishonor to a child of God to be the world’s favorite. It is a very ill omen to hear a wicked world clap its hands and shout “Well done” to the Christian. It may serve him to begin to look to his character, and wonder whether he has not been doing wrong, when the unrighteous give him their admiration. Let us be true to our Master, and have no friendship with a blind and corrupt world which scorns and rejects him. Far be it from us to seek a crown of honor where our Lord found a crown of thorns.