1 Thessalonians 1:3-5, 11-12
- We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing.
- Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.
- All this is evidence that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering.
- With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith.
- We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus talks about the secret of his life as in John 14:10 “It is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.” Many of us, while claiming to have faith in God, live on their own purposes and motivations, not led by God’s purpose and motivation. Apostle Paul says in 1 The 2:4 that he preaches the gospel in order to please God. Jesus and Paul. In the core of their lives exists God. Because they had such clear and simple motivations for their lives, they were able to life a powerful life. In contrast, those who put their own desires as priority tend to have various concerns and live a complicated life.
I’d like to talk about what a Christian’s life should be like by looking at Christians in Thessaloniki.
We thank…
Christians of Thessaloniki tried to practice what they had learned from the Apostles and were becoming new. When Paul was thinking about them, the first feeling that came up in his mind was thankfulness. He says, “We ought always to thank God for you”. He was thankful neither because the number of Christians increased, nor because their financial situations got better. He was grateful for the fact that the believers were gaining deeper faith. Faith grows the most when one experiences tests and trials. In the times of hardships and sufferings, he holds onto his faith and willingly accepts sufferings in order to keep his faith. Then his faith experiences the greatest growth.
Another reason for Paul’s thankfulness is that the believers had come to love one another more while they were going through the hardships together. They show that even hardships can’t make in vain God’s command “Love one another”, which moved Paul’s heart deeply. And finally, Paul is thankful because God was there in the heart of these changes of the believers.
We boast…
Another feeling that Paul has toward the Christians of Thessaloniki was that he boasts about them. He boasts for the fact that they abided by their faith and perseverance through persecution and hardships. Back then, it was a great challenge to believe in Jesus. While Paul says “it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved” in Rom 10:10, confessing their belief in Jesus with their mouth meant risking their lives. It takes a lot of courage to confess their faith. However, the Christians of Thessaloniki did so because they had faith that God never waists the hardships of his people. That is, they believed that their suffering is not meaningless for God and that God would create something good through those hardships. Paul says in 2 Cor 4:17,
For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
They knew that even though they were having so many sufferings and troubles, they would gain the fruits of perseverance and maturity when they surrendered to God. And now we are reading that Paul is boasting about their faith!
We pray…
Lastly, Paul is praying to God in remembrance of the beloved Christians of Thessaloniki for the growth of their faith.
With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith. (11)
Why did God choose us, call us and save us? It is his invitation to work together with him. Therefore, a mature Christian should ask God, “What can I do for you?” Then God would answer, “First, make a smile on your face. Be friends with lonely people. Feed those poor people…”. We should listen to his voice. Then he will flourish our tiny small faith into a beautiful flower.
Brothers and sisters, hold onto God and have faith in God when your life gets harder. While walking along God’s road together with him, you’ll find that the darkness of your mind has disappeared and God is shining your life even brighter.