This week's scriptures:

Psalm 69v1-15

Matthew 10v16-42

No sooner does Jesus call people to humbly serve than he warns them that reality may not match their expectations. Motivated by genuine love, eager to be kind and peace-loving, they should anticipate disappointment—if not outright persecution. While he says little about their impending successes, Jesus is candid about their looming struggles.

It reads as both a fair warning and a vital reminder: “I signed up to be faithful, not to guarantee certain results.” Perhaps all who set out to serve—to lay down their lives for the sake of others—would do well to revisit Jesus’ honest caution. There will be difficult times. There will be times when our efforts are misunderstood, when the good we hope to do is received not as kindness, but as the embodiment of evil.