Blessedness

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus talks about happiness by listing eight Beatitudes. A beatitude is a conditional promise of happiness. And yet, he calls those who are intentionally hurt by someone else "blessed." Persecution is not a blessing. The only people who are happy when they are persecuted are those who are persecuted on account of Jesus. If we are willing to be persecuted because we follow, trust, and obey him, then we will receive a reward in heaven that is greater than the suffering we face on earth.