Morning & Evening Devotional Reading–

November 10– Evening

by C. H. Spurgeon, revised and edited by W. C. Neff

“It is enough for the disciple to be like his master.”

—Matthew 10:25

It would be out of place for the servant to be exalted above his Master. When our Lord was on earth, what kind of treatment did he receive? Were his claims acknowledged, his instructions followed, his perfections worshipped, by those whom he came to bless? No; “He was despised and rejected of men.” He had to go outside the camp; cross-bearing was his occupation. Did the world yield him comfort and rest? No! He himself said, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man doesn’t have a place 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 life style– you must expect the same as your outward life comes under the observation of men. They will treat you as they treated the Savior.

Don’t dream that worldlings will admire you or that the more holy and Christ-like you are, the more peaceably people will act towards you. They didn’t prize the polished gem, so how will they value the diamond in the rough? “If they have called the Master of the house Beelzebub, what else will they call those who belong to his household?” If we were more like Christ, we would be more hated by his enemies. It would be a sad dishonor to a child of God to be the world’s favorite. It is a bad omen to hear a wicked world clap its hands and shout “Well done” to the Christian man. He should begin to reflect on his character and wonder what he has been doing wrong when the unrighteous give him their esteem.

Let us be true to our Master and have no friendship with a blind and base world which scorns and rejects him. Far be it from us to seek a crown of honor where our Lord found a diadem of thorns. [M&E]