Read with Me
1 Thessalonians 1:1-3 (HCSB)
Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy:
To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Grace to you and peace.
We always thank God for all of you, remembering you constantly in our prayers. We recall, in the presence of our God and Father, your work of faith, labor of love, and endurance of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ,
Listen with Me
Paul wrote this letter not very long after he had been hustled off to Berea to escape the mob violence fomented by the Jewish leadership in the city of Thessalonica. (Act 17:5-10). In fact, the Jewish leaders had tracked him down in Berea after only a short time and stirred up opposition there, causing the brothers to send Paul down to Athens. He left instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as they could (Acts 17:13-15). They finally caught up to Paul in Corinth (Acts 18:5), and when they arrived with a good report on the steadfastness of the Thessalonians despite the persecution that some of them were facing (1 Thessalonian3:6) Paul wrote this letter to encourage them until he himself could return.
Paul encouraged the Thessalonians, all of them new believers, that they were in his prayers. As Paul prayed for them, he lifted up before God a remembrance of the faith of these powerful and faithful new believers that had resulted in their work for the kingdom, continually sharing their faith with those around them, and thus growing God’s kingdom. He also clearly saw that their labor for the kingdom was spurred by the powerful agape love that God has placed in each of their hearts through the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Paul also held them up for their endurance, their perseverance in the midst of challenges and even persecution. He knew that the only source for that kind of staying power is the hope that believers have in their hearts, not just the hope of Heaven someday, but the hope of the presence and power of Jesus working in and through them every day in the meantime. And the fact that they demonstrably possessed that sure hope helped Paul to know that his work there had not been in vain.
Pray with Me
Father, sometimes it is easy for us to fall into the trap of thinking that our faith is simply a matter of believing the right things. But Paul understood that faith in Jesus could not be static. It must be dynamic and productive, because You have an agenda you are still pursuing: the salvation of all mankind and the transformation of the world (Romans 8:19-21). The faithfulness of the Thessalonians was not shown primarily by correct beliefs, but by the actions that those beliefs caused them to do, and by the hope that they held in their hearts as they did them, hope that moved them forward and that made them “persecution-proof”. Lord, help me to be as powerfully moved by my faith in Jesus as they were, help me to be as true to Your mission, and as productive for Your kingdom. Amen.