Theological Commentary: Click Here
Today we
turn once more to the New Testament. In
1 Thessalonians, we hear words penned by Paul to a former community of
faith. Paul and his associates came to
Thessalonica after going to Philippi.
What’s good to remember is that Paul and his associates were arrested
and persecuted in Philippi. They came to
Philippi with a hard moment of life to their backs.
This is why
Paul reminds them that they didn’t come with a lofty tone or seeking their own
glory. They came humbly, simply desiring
to share Christ with them. They know
rejection and they know persecution.
They come hoping to avoid more of the same while realizing that it could
– and would – happen again.
While in
Thessalonica, Paul does see people come to know Christ. Their humbleness and gentleness pays off and
people begin to know Christ through their works. They see Christ in Paul and His
associates. They began to realize that
if God can work through Paul and his associates, then God can work through
them. This is one of the powers of
testimony. If God can do things through
one fallen human, it makes logical sense to conclude that God can do it through
any number of fallen humans, too. Our past
doesn’t matter. What God cares about is
our future.
In turn, word
of the Thessalonians has spread all throughout Greece and the surrounding
areas. The Thessalonians become what
Paul and his associates became. The work
that God does in and through them helps even more people believe that God can
work through them, too. As Paul opens
this letter to Thessalonica, he reminds them of the power of a positive
testimony. God uses us to accomplish His
will. God also uses us to reach other
people for Him.
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