Read Psalm 123:1-4 1To you I lift up my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heavens! 2Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maidservant to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, till he has mercy upon us. 3Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us, for we have had more than enough of contempt. 4Our soul has had more than enough of the scorn of those who are at ease, of the contempt of the proud.
Have you ever felt as though you were being treated with contempt? With scorn? On a personal level nothing wounds deeper. Apathy bruises. Misunderstandings scratch. But contempt stabs. Like Jesus and his brother, James, both said, it murders.
No faith faces as much contempt in the world today as the Christian faith. Christians around the globe are not only disliked but hated. Harassed. Arrested. Tortured. Yet nothing offers more honor than to face contempt for Christ.
How did the Israelite pilgrims respond to the contempt they faced? Did they give up on God? Did they join the side of the proud? No. They lifted up their eyes to the one enthroned in the heavens. For the person in Christ, this means fixing our eyes on Jesus seated on his heavenly throne with us seated beside him at the Father’s right hand.
The Israelite pilgrim cried out for mercy. In Christ our mercy has come. Who can stand against us? Who can bring a charge against God’s elect? Who can separate us from God’s love? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?
Romans 8:37-39. 37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
To live is Christ is to face the contempt of the world, but it is to face it held securely in the merciful hand of the Father.
You: Where are you facing contempt for your faith?
You in Christ: How does our union with Christ allow us to boldly face contempt for Christ?
Christ in you: Today, will you look up to Jesus seated on the throne, yourself seated beside him?
Pray: Jesus, you faced contempt and turned it into redemption. May I do the same when I face contempt for my faith. Amen.
To Live is Christ 