Just imagine for a moment how you would feel if you suddenly received a thank you note from your “superhero of the faith” commending you for things you’ve recently done. This was pretty much Paul’s motive in writing this letter to the Thessalonians. In it, he thanks them for their fruitful work produced by their faith in the Lord, and celebrates the endurance their hope has inspired in the face of much persecution. Truth be told, this is one letter I wouldn’t mind receiving one day, so let’s see what the Thessalonians did to deserve such praise from Paul!
“We give thanks to God always for all of you, continually mentioning you in our prayers; recalling unceasingly before our God and Father your work energized by faith, and your service motivated by love and unwavering hope in [the return of] our Lord Jesus Christ. (1:2-3)
Faith, Hope & Love. Do you recall hearing those same words joined together once before?
The work they did was,
- Energized by their faith
- Motivated by their love for the Lord and others, and unwavering hope (that will not disappoint) in the Lord’s return.
I wonder if the same could be said of you (and I) in what we’re doing? I believe when this is true of each of us, we won’t run the risk of growing weary in our work. The secret lies in where they were focused, not on the circumstances around them. They were facing mounting persecution, yet their faith and love for their Lord Jesus Christ, along with their hope that He would return one day caused them to persevere! BUT hold on,
“ Brothers and sisters beloved by God, we know that He has chosen you; for our good news [of salvation] come to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with great conviction.” (1:4-5)
Whoa! Not only were they energized by their faith in Jesus, motivated by their love and the hope of His return, they were also trusting in His word and the power of the Holy Spirit! How can anyone fail with that combination all tied together!?
You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your benefit. You became imitators of us and of the Lord, after you welcomed our message in [a time of] great trouble with the joy supplied by the Holy Spirit; so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 1:6-7)
Their final key component was to follow the examples of other godly men and women who were leading the way! And the result of all of this was, “ the word of the Lord has resounded from you and has echoed [like thunder], not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place [the news of] your [great] faith in God has spread...” (1:8)
When Paul started the church in Thessalonica what gave his message and ministry credibility was the kind of men he and his team proved to be while living among the Thessalonians. Displaying Jesus happens best when we “do life” among people. Nothing replaces the opportunity for others to see how Jesus influences the real routine of our lives: family, friendships, work, trials, etc.. like,
- God’s Holy Spirit to be living and active in our lives.
- For us to live among other people with intentionality.
In 2004, my husband and I took over a very large Young Married Life Group class. These were couples with mostly young children at the time, and we thought one way to get to know each couple and their children better would be to invite one family over to enjoy Sunday dinner with our kids and grandchildren each week. What we later came to realize was that, what we demonstrated during those dinners; in how our whole family interacted with one another spoke volumes over anything we taught on that morning! We know this now, because of what those couples later came back and told us. In so many words, they confessed our words took on greater weight after they could see that we were speaking from experience.
Displaying that level of transparency and vulnerability is almost necessary in this day and age if we want people to see the difference Jesus has made in our lives, and I believe we should place our lives on display with Christians and non-Christians alike!
God has given each of us a life message! When we became His child, we also became His messenger! Did you ever think of that?
God wants to speak to the world through you. You may think you don’t have anything to share, but that’s where you’re wrong! All of us have a story to tell. We all have experiences unlike any other that God wants to use to bring others into His family. And just sometimes that story can be told through our actions, better than our words!
God Word says, “Those who believe in the Son of God have the testimony of God in them” (1 John 5:10a). We all just need to get out there and begin to share it!!
