REVELATION 2:9
Read Revelation 2:9.
Do you know what it’s like to be the underdog? No doubt the church in Smyrna did…
It is interesting that while the city of Smyrna was very prosperous, the church was apparently not. That really is the only way to interpret the statements regarding their poverty. Jesus is not reprimanding them for being spiritual poor and yet materially rich. On the contrary, He is saying that while they may be poor materially, they are very rich spiritually. I mentioned yesterday that perseverance in the faith is often easier for those suffering hardship than for those experiencing prosperity. Certainly for the Smyrnans, their impoverished state did not adversely affect their faith. Imagine the temptation they must have experienced living in such materially rich surroundings. In many ways, we live in a similar setting with the U.S. being one of the most prosperous nations on the planet. The temptation to fit into the culture or even worse, be governed by our culture is a tremendous struggle for many of us. As a friend once said to me, “It wouldn’t hurt to have less.” He said that knowing that doing without can help one’s growth not only in faith, but as a person as well.
In addition to the material temptations, the church experienced the persecution and slander of a group of Jews who were either so far off course from Judaism as to be Jews in name only or that they were not truly the children of Abraham due to a lack of faith in Jesus Christ (Gal. 3:16, 29). In either case, their antagonism toward the church was such that Jesus calls them a “synagogue of Satan” (not a term that would apply to all Jews, but specifically to these antagonistic ones). In the early years of the Church, the distinction between Jews and Christians was blurry at best. Christianity was often seen as a sect of Judaism by outsiders. To have the Jews slander what appeared to be their own people may have only cornered the small church into their perception as a disruptive cult. Surely, too, these “Jews” made it difficult to spread the gospel, perhaps even causing some to pull away from the Church. If you’ve ever felt like a little kid being picked on by big bullies, or if you’ve ever been looked down upon for being poor or deprived, I suspect you can understand a little of what this church may have suffered.
Maybe you feel like that now. If so, you’re in a good place according to Jesus who says in Matthew 19:30 – “But many who are first will be last, and the last, first.” The apostle Peter writes, “…but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.” You may feel like an underdog right now, but somehow, I think God has a heart for the underdog.
