Real Hope: Building Others UpSample

The Team

1 Thessalonians 5 reminds us that none of us knows the day or time when we will be called home – when our lives will come to an end. This passage uses the example of a thief coming in the night. Again, not something any of us knows will happen ahead of time. All we know about this thief is that we cannot avoid it. It will come.

What exactly does the letter writer mean when he says, ‘therefore encourage one another and build each other up?’ Does he mean for us to cheer one another on with chants like, ‘Yay! You’re not dead yet!’ or ‘You can do it unless you die!’ I don’t think so. Verse 6 gives us a clue when the writer urges us not to be like those asleep but to be sober and alert.

We are to encourage one another to be prepared in the face of this inescapable reality (death). There’s never a day when it’s okay to take our relationship with God for granted or a time when we can have a day off from being in Jesus’ likeness. We will sin and fall short of the glory of God, but being in this relationship with Jesus means that we give everything we have to Him; to follow His call and example. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I need help remembering that. Sometimes it feels like a hard slog, and I need someone to kick me in the butt. Sometimes I wander too close to dangerous territory, and I need people around me to warn me.

This is perhaps one of the greatest blessings of our Christian brothers and sisters – having a team of people who are so ‘for you’ that they partner with you to keep guard of your faith. Today I praise God for the people in my life who keep watch on me, and I have the blessing of watching over too.

Written by KATIE SMITH