The Seal of a True Disciple BY: Ze’ev Shlomo Kofsmann
How we handle criticism and scorn reveals a lot about our character.
How great is the need that the kindness of our Master fill us so that we may live lives incomprehensible by others, to endure their unjust criticism without complaining. Only the grace of God is able to perform this miracle in a steadfast heart that has fully died with the Master Yeshua the Messiah.
The Scriptures say of our beloved Savior: “When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly” (1 Peter 2:23).
Never is the true character of a Messianic believer revealed quite like the moment he becomes the object of scorn, of slander, and of various condemnations. If he bears the truth without wanting to justify himself or to respond with a counterattack, he reveals that the spirit of the Master Yeshua the Messiah has made its imprint on him; here we find the seal of the true disciple of the Master. This difficult test is like filing away at metal to prove whether it is entirely gold or merely gilded. Blessings often result from a trial such as this.
Let us remember King David, who was pursued by his enemies. Surrounded by difficulty on all sides, troubled by the curses of Shimei, he said, “Leave him alone; let him curse, for the LORD has told him to. It may be that the LORD will look upon my misery and restore to me his covenant blessing instead of his curse today” (2 Samuel 16:11–12).
There is a purpose to our lives and our actions as Messianic believers. We are obligated to consider without respite the “miraculous purpose,” and we are forbidden from giving grievance for the unjust deeds that are done to us, thus partnering in their bitterness. Let us not waste our time nor fritter away our lives with little battles consisting of protests and vain justifications because the reward for all these efforts is pitiful and often nothing at all.
The matter can be compared to a man who succeeds at the cost of many painful stings to drive bees away from their hive, but when he comes to take the honeycomb, it turns out that it contains only a little honey, and the little it has is bitter.
Let it be the will of the blessed Holy One to make us more and more like his beloved Son—his grace and his compassion—who, “when they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate … but entrusted himself to him who judges justly.” Amen!
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