The reproach

UV 388/10,000 The reproach of Christ versus the reproach of Egypt 1Pe 4:14 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. The word reproach means a ‘cause or occasion of blame, disapproval, discredit or disgrace’. Is it not a mystery that in the well known faith chapter of Hebrews, it is written that Moses preferred the reproach of Christ to the pleasures of Pharaoh though Moses preceded Christ by several centuries ? In the book of Joshua, it is written that the Lord rolled away the reproach of Egypt at a place which came to be known as Gilgal for that very reason. ( Joshua 5 v 9). Our faith establishes a connectivity between disparate events in different ages for Christ is the ageless One. Moses could see Him with the eye of faith as the Saviour to come even as the Lord called Moses to be the one to lead the Hebrew slaves out of Egyptian bondage. Christ rolls away all the reproaches or the negative dimensions of our lives even as the heavy stone that blocked His grave was rolled away by an angel. When we are rebuked or persecuted for our faith in Christ we ought to consider ourselves blessed. We ought to be cheerful about it for with it comes the promise of the Holy Spirit, the spirit of glory and of God who will rest on us and comfort, counsel and guard us. When we are spoken ill of on account of our faith, the Lord is glorified in that His power would be made manifest in diverse ways. When we are reproached for our faith in Christ it is a signal for God to intervene. It is an opportunity for Him to reveal His mighty hand, so far restrained by His mercy and grace. It is time for judgement to be executed and to show the world at large that the Lord is with us and His favour rests on us. Looking back we must thank God for the reproaches in our lives before we turned to Christ for redemption. We must also be thankful for all the occasions when we suffered reproach for Christ. The former is a heavy yoke of the curses and limitations imposed on us by our human nature and condition. The latter is a lighter yoke that the Lord will help us bear and emerge shining as victors, triumphant in spirit, resilient in attitude, grateful in suffering. Prateep V Philip