1 Thessalonians: Real Faith in a Returning KingSample

A Living Response

In his closing section, Paul encourages the Thessalonian believers to honor their leaders and live at peace with everyone. Not to be disrupters or disorderly, but to comfort and be patient with one another. All throughout 1 Thessalonians Paul has demonstrated that faith is not simply something we think or believe, but something that moves us to action. In other words, faith is a verb.

Then, as he has throughout the letter, Paul gives a list of things that sound really good, but can be hard to do. It is hard to forgive when you’ve been deeply hurt, or to have joy when life is hard. It’s hard not to repay evil for evil and to flee from sin. But God is faithful to us, and will be with us through it all.

That said, it is important to remember that the blessings of Christ and promises of God only apply to those who are in Christ. Being loved, forgiven, and adopted into God’s family doesn’t happen by our effort, but by surrendering our lives to him. Those in Christ have nothing to prove and no one to impress because Jesus proved it all for us, and we are deeply loved by God himself.

Without Christ, it’s nearly impossible not to repay people for wronging us or to forgive someone who has deeply wounded us. In Christ, we know that this is exactly what God has done for us in Jesus.

It’s good to remember that the Thessalonian believers’ suffering was largely because of their faith. So what Paul is encouraging them to do is really hard. But not too hard for Jesus. God never asks us to do what he himself hasn’t done for us.

This is why Exodus 34:6-7 is so impactful. In these verses God tells us exactly who he is. He’s compassionate and gracious. Slow to anger and abounding in loyal and faithful love to us; the forgiver of sin to all who would ask him.

Ultimately, we know that God is faithful to his promises. At the same time, we must remember that his promises and our assumptions of how he is supposed to operate are not always the same. He never promises that we won’t suffer, or that tragedy will not come our way. But he promises to never leave us or forsake when they do.

In conclusion, as much as Paul emphasizes living in a way worthy of our salvation, he reminds us that the grace of God himself will be with us. So we should always remember that our faithfulness to God is a response to his faithfulness to us.

He loved us first, and Paul encourages us to live in a way that demonstrates this truth.

Today’s reflection:

Do you find yourself trying to honor God because it’s the “right” thing to do, or in response to his love and grace towards you?

Going deeper:

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