Living the Cost of Discipleship – DSN Reflection for Friday, July 11, 2025

📖 Daily Scripture Readings

Genesis 46:1–7, 28–30 • Matthew 10:16–23
Memorial of St. Benedict, Abbot

🕊️

Reflection – Sent as Sheep Among Wolves

“Behold, I am sending you out like sheep in the midst of wolves.”
Jesus does not sugarcoat the cost of following Him. In today’s Gospel, He tells His disciples plainly: persecution will come. Arrests. Betrayals. Hatred. But this is not a message of fear—it is a call to courage and fidelity.

Being commissioned by Christ is an honour, but it also comes with wounds. In a world that often resists truth, love, and holiness, the disciple will stand out—and suffer for it.

In the First Reading, we see Jacob, aged and uncertain, journeying to Egypt at the invitation of Joseph. The reunion is tender and profound. After years of pain and waiting, there is restoration. God’s hand was quietly at work the whole time.

Fr. Bruno Ihekaozor, C.S.Sp, helps us see the deeper truth:
“Being commissioned by Christ assures persecution, but we must know that this persecution is short lived, and they are achieving for us an eternal glory.”

Whatever you’re facing today—whether misunderstanding, rejection, or quiet suffering—hold fast. Heaven is not blind to your struggle. What feels like loss now may be storing up glory.

So don’t shrink back. Stand. Speak truth in love. Carry the cross. You were never promised ease. But you were promised Christ. And He never abandons His own.

🙏🏽

Prayer

Lord Jesus,
You never lied to me about the cost of following You.
Give me strength when I feel weak.
Give me peace when I feel rejected.
Let my wounds be offerings for Your glory.
And let me trust that no suffering in You is wasted.
Amen.

✍🏽
Author
Reflection by Rev. Fr. Bruno Ihekaozor, C.S.Sp – DSN Team, Belgium

🌐
Be strengthened daily. Walk with the Word.
Visit https://dsnuggets.org
Fuel for the soul. Fresh every morning.