Thursday, February 13, 2025

            Paul wrote 2 letters to the Christians in Thessalonica.  I Thessalonians is often thought to be one of Paul’s earliest writings, if not his first letter.  He wrote to offer comfort and encouragement to first-century believers who were laboring hard and persevering faithfully to live in pure and righteous ways.  In his opening chapter, the apostle wrote, “We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 1:3).  Does that read like a prayer to you?  Possibly because it was a prayer that the apostle offered for the Thessalonian Christians.
            Paul acknowledged that “we” (likely Paul and his companions in missions and ministry) pray for or “remember” the Thessalonians “before our God and Father.”  Isn’t it wonderful when someone says that he or she is praying for you?  Almost immediately, we feel touched and humbled by this gift we have been given.  And we are thankful for those special believers who sincerely intercede for us—often on a moment’s notice or even without being asked.  To be given the gift of a praying brother or sister is a tremendous treasure that we dare not take for granted.  The apostle wanted the Thessalonians to know that he loved them enough to take them before the Lord and to ask the Father to bless and provide for these believers.  Who will you take before the Lord today?  Who could be in need of your prayers right now? 
            Next, in this verse, we notice the familiar Christian triad of virtues—faith, love and hope.  Paul commended the Thessalonian believers for this spiritual fruit that they were producing.  Clearly, the Lord was at work in and through them to bring about this kind of fruit.  These virtues are foundational to the Christian life.  And they are not values that we passively hold or admire—like we might look upon museum pieces with admiration and amazement.  Faith, love and hope are to be lived out and demonstrated.  The Holy Spirit produces this fruit in us as we grow in Christ.  We can break down these virtues individually to learn more.
            First, we see that Paul said “work” is produced by “faith.”  As we believe the Lord and trust Him, we work for His glory.  We serve His purposes.  We serve Him because we believe it is right and good.  Works and faith share a relationship.  We work because we are inspired by our faith in Christ.  Our faith grows as we work for Him.  Works do not save us.  We are saved by grace through faith in Christ and His finished and perfect work at the cross.  But works are an extension or an outgrowth of our faith.  And as we grow in faith, we grow in our desire to serve and to work boldly and confidently—knowing full well that He will be our strength.
            Second, we discover that Paul wrote “your labor” is prompted by “love.”  We love God because He first loved us.  Love is more than feelings, emotions and sentimental expressions.  Love is lived out and expressed.  Love is a verb—we love Christ because He first loved us and we love others as one way of loving Christ.  We labor out of love for the gospel where we first learn that Christ took upon Himself and died for our sins while giving us His innocence and righteousness to our credit.
            Third, our endurance and perseverance are inspired by the hope that we have in
Christ.  A believer’s hope in Christ provides divine strength to persevere through trials. This hope grounded in Christ is not a matter of wishful thinking or mere human optimism but a confident expectation based on God's promises.  We have the great hope of eternity with Christ.  We do not grieve as people without hope as we consider our death or the death of other believers.  We do not labor without hope—we trust that God takes what we bring to Him and uses it for His glory while multiplying it for the good of the gospel message. 
            Christ is the subject of our faith, love and hope.  We direct these virtues toward Him as we live.  He is the reason for our work, labor and endurance.  Our great hope for the future lies in our awaiting the day of His return.  He is the center of all things.  And we seek each day to make Him the center of who we are and what we do.  Now is the time for work, labor and endurance as we anticipate, with great hopefulness, the coming day when we will forever rest in Him and the eternity that He has made for us.  Have a great Thursday!