“We are bound to thank God always for you, brothers, as it is meet, because that your faith grows exceedingly, and the charity (love) of everyone of you all each other abounds. 4. So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure.”
When Paul expressed his thankfulness for the Thessalonian church, he listed three of their great qualities for which he was thankful – faith, love, and patience (perseverance). These are qualities that we should desire to have in these trying days. It is not as dangerous to be a Christian in our day as it was in the Paul’s day, but we still need these qualities if we are to live for Jesus and be effective witnesses for Him. Besides, who knows what we might face in the future? Paul was thankful for their faith. Faith is all-important in the life of a Christian. According to Ephesians 2:8, it is by God’s “grace through faith, that we are saved.” But faith is not something that we use to be saved and then go about our way, living as we wish. Faith becomes part and parcel with our lifestyles. We are saved by faith and we are sustained by faith. We face each day with faith in the Lord Jesus that He is going to enable us to face and endure whatever a day might bring. There are two other words in the New Testament that go along with faith – believe and trust. When we believe in Jesus as our Savior, He saves us and indwells us with the Holy Spirit. From that point on, we trust Him to help us in all of the events of our lives. I can’t say that I never have doubts, but I can say that it is a great comfort to know that I can trust that Jesus will help me meet whatever I have to meet with on any given day. Paul was thankful that their love for each other was increasing. The Greek word for love used here, is not the kind of love that we have for friends, or even for our loved ones. It is God’s kind of love, which is sacrificial and is active in our lives. The Greek word is agape. It is the kind of love mentioned in John 3:16 and in the great love chapter of 1 Corinthians 13. It is the word for love that Jesus used in John 11:35: “By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, by the love that you have for each other.” The church’s first witness to the world is the love that we have for each other. What is the world to think when they see us fussing and feuding, fussing over who is in control of our church? It was ultimately important that the Thessalonians love each other if they were to witness to their pagan world. It is no different for us. The world needs to see our love for each other increasing. Think of your own church. Think of your own attitude toward your fellow church members. Do you love them? Perhaps we all need to check our “love quotient” and determine whether or not our love is increasing. Our world is as much in need of Christ’s love as the world of Paul’s day. The only way the world will see that love is when they see it in us. Paul was thankful for their patience, or perseverance. The Greek word used for “patience” here means not just waiting patiently, but enduring while we wait. At this time, we do not have to endure the heavy persecution that the Thessalonians had to face, but we do have to face the daily annoyances and problems of life. Whatever it is that we have to face, we need to persevere in our faith and love. In other words, we should not let the problems of life cause us to throw up our hands and quit. Check these qualities in your life. Pray that you will grow in faith, increase in love and persevere in the trials of life. . Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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