Serpents and Doves

Matthew 10:16 “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.”

Thinking back on yesterday’s article about thinking on things above, we are called to seek out and keep our minds on things above where Christ is. When coupling Colossians 3:2 with the Matthew 10:16, we can see the importance of keeping our minds on things above.

As followers of the Lord, we will be called to go out among wolves. The wolves around us will look for a weakness or an opportunity to take discredit our reputation and faith. They will look for hypocrisy in our life, they will try to catch us out in our words, they will set traps for us to fall into sin, they will mock our faith, they will revile us, and even go so far as to persecute us. The apostles recalled that they were falsely accused, brought before courts, beaten, jailed, and even had to run for their lives.

Jesus commands his disciples to be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Don’t be naive to the ways of the enemy who may try to tempt you or set you up to fall. Don’t take the bait of sin, but remain innocent as doves so that no one can find fault. Live as though Christ were beside you and watching you as He is!

Why would non-believers do this to Christians? John 15:16 states “if you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” In the past three days, my family and I have already witnessed two open rejections and mocking of our faith. Not everyone will respond this way, some will keep their rejection to themselves and others might be more aggressive. So we should strive to keep our minds on Christ, be loving towards everyone, and try to live in such a way that no one finds fault with us, but especially our Lord. May we strive to bring Him glory.