What We Forget about Prophets

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1L8y-MX3pg
The first time I read this passage it made me think about what it really requires to be a prophet and that Sunday was at a baptism service, literally the entire service was only baptisms (like 20). One of the people being baptized had his family on stage with him and after he was dunked one of the pastors turned to him and said "when you were talking about your son God spoke to me one word, 'prophet' " and the family started to cry and people started cheering. But I was wondering are all of those tears shed tears of joy? Everyone talks about how wonderful it would be for a child to use like that but have they read what prophets in the Bible went through? Many of them (if not all) lived lonely lives, where the very people they are called to care for hate them and try to kill them. Here Jeremiah actually wishes he had never been born, curses the the day of his conception, saying it would have been better that he be a still-born. Could not at least one of those tears from the mother be a tear of sorrow because of the knowledge that her child may have to live an incredibly hard life? To look at a comparison, how would people react if the pastor told them their child was going to be a martyr. Now we are told what a great reward you will receive to be killed for the gospel's sake but I don't that would be much comfort for a new mother. But it seems like we have a selective memory about things like prophets. We only remember the noble role and ignore the parts about living in the desert, the people hating them, how many of them were killed and then wonder why children might be resistant to take the role God has called them to.
We see this weird selective memory all the time. Another example is if you look at the final speak Martin Luther King made (see link) and the biggest cheer is for when he says "it really doesn't matter with me now, because I've been to the mountain top". But even now when I hear that I get a pit in my stomach because the first thing that pops into my head is that Moss never came down from the mountain top. Seeing the promised land was the last thing he did before dying. And no one can claim King did not know that, yet the crowd didn't seem to grasp the significance of it. It may seem like a rallying speech but I see a farewell speak by a man who knows his time is just about up and is at peace with it.
How is it that we forget the details of these stories? It seems that this would hold us back, because in our minds we have whitewashed the cost and real picture that following Christ requires. So when REALITY hits we freak out and say "this is not what I signed up for!" instead of realizing that is exactly the time we should know we are doing His will.

Created over 2 years ago