Pictures of the Living
The hazardous, adventurous life of the Thessalonian believers and us
Thessalonica, founded in 315 BCE, was the chief city of the Roman province of Macedonia (now part of Greece). At the apostle Paul’s visit, about 200,000 people lived in this thriving center of culture and trade. After getting out of prison in Philippi, sometime in the year 50, Paul and his companions made their way to Thessalonica. The book of Acts mentions that Paul was there only three weeks and that his main activity was teaching in the Jewish synagogue. The Christian converts were some of the Jews, a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women. Both the book of Acts and this letter to the believers in Thessalonica reveals that Paul suffered some sort of persecution and had to leave Thessalonica suddenly. Going on to Athens, Paul sends Timothy back to Thessalonica to check on the community of believers. Timothy then returns and meets up with Paul in Corinth. Responding to Timothy’s report and their questions, Paul now writes this letter sometime in late 50 or early 51. First Thessalonians is significant, therefore, as the earliest document in our New Testament and as the first letter, a form of communication that became important in our collection of New Testament writings.
The other night, I sat down on the couch and turned the TV on to the National Geographic channel. There was a very interesting show on about people who work in hazardous occupations. My favorite person was the adventure photographer. She is a small German woman who is smart, determined and tough. I don't remember her name, but I will call her Brigitta. Brigitta will only attempt the most exotic and dangerous expeditions in order to take the rare photos that she loves. The narrator of this TV program informed us that Brigitta loves her work so much that she actually invested 100,000 euros of her own money for a special photo-shoot opportunity in Papua New Guinea. You see, Brigitta had heard about the unique burial rituals of one particular tribe that uses smoke to preserve the bodies as long as possible. The bodies are left hanging in wooden cages right within the village! After months of research and preparation, Brigitta packs her bags, ready for her newest challenge. As she enters this world-out-of-time, she faces time set-backs, malaria-infested woods, camping in an environment with poisonous snakes and spiders, raging rivers, and the possibility of hostile natives. Brigitta was challenged not only physically, but mentally as well, since no one actually had hard proof that the people she's looking for truly existed! In the end, it was her deep love for her work that compelled her to continue her quest. Though she was lead down several false paths, Brigitta finally found what she had been looking for – these fascinating people. And you should have seen the look on her face! Every last euro, every last hardship and danger had been worth it. The TV camera showed Brigitta with a great big smile on her face, snapping picture after picture. She had her treasure!
I want to use Brigitta's story to highlight three themes that are so important to us and that Paul brings out in his letter to the Thessalonians. In 1 Thessalonians 1:3 it says, "We continually 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. The first major thing is Faith – faith that produces action.
Somehow Brigitta had heard about the unique tribe in Papua New Guinea. She was so fascinated that she decided to take months to research and prepare for this incredible adventure. Although this was something she had never seen, she believed it was there and all of her subsequent actions were a result of her faith.
If you truly have faith, then you will have purposeful action. Your faith will move you to action, and your action will show that you truly have faith. James 2:17, "…faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." Do you know how important faith is? In these five short chapters the word faith is mentioned 8 times. Paul didn’t ask how many people were in the church, he didn’t ask if they had a preacher or not, and he didn’t ask about their social status. He wanted to make sure that they were standing firm in their faith. And although the faith of these believers had become well known, he was worried that in the face of persecution their faith would become weak. What if the social pressure was too much? What if they forgot about God’s awesome power and became afraid to witness to their family and friends? He wrote, "For this reason, when I could stand it no longer, I sent Timothy to find out about your faith. I was afraid that in some way the tempter might have tempted you and our efforts might have been useless (3:5).” Paul wants to know about one thing – the state of their faith. In the next verse he says, "But Timothy has just now come to us from you and has brought good news about your faith and love... Therefore, brothers, in all our distress and persecution we were encouraged about you because of your faith. For now we really live, since you are standing firm in the Lord." 3:6-8
The hazardous, adventurous life of the Thessalonian believers and us
Thessalonica, founded in 315 BCE, was the chief city of the Roman province of Macedonia (now part of Greece). At the apostle Paul’s visit, about 200,000 people lived in this thriving center of culture and trade. After getting out of prison in Philippi, sometime in the year 50, Paul and his companions made their way to Thessalonica. The book of Acts mentions that Paul was there only three weeks and that his main activity was teaching in the Jewish synagogue. The Christian converts were some of the Jews, a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women. Both the book of Acts and this letter to the believers in Thessalonica reveals that Paul suffered some sort of persecution and had to leave Thessalonica suddenly. Going on to Athens, Paul sends Timothy back to Thessalonica to check on the community of believers. Timothy then returns and meets up with Paul in Corinth. Responding to Timothy’s report and their questions, Paul now writes this letter sometime in late 50 or early 51. First Thessalonians is significant, therefore, as the earliest document in our New Testament and as the first letter, a form of communication that became important in our collection of New Testament writings.
The other night, I sat down on the couch and turned the TV on to the National Geographic channel. There was a very interesting show on about people who work in hazardous occupations. My favorite person was the adventure photographer. She is a small German woman who is smart, determined and tough. I don't remember her name, but I will call her Brigitta. Brigitta will only attempt the most exotic and dangerous expeditions in order to take the rare photos that she loves. The narrator of this TV program informed us that Brigitta loves her work so much that she actually invested 100,000 euros of her own money for a special photo-shoot opportunity in Papua New Guinea. You see, Brigitta had heard about the unique burial rituals of one particular tribe that uses smoke to preserve the bodies as long as possible. The bodies are left hanging in wooden cages right within the village! After months of research and preparation, Brigitta packs her bags, ready for her newest challenge. As she enters this world-out-of-time, she faces time set-backs, malaria-infested woods, camping in an environment with poisonous snakes and spiders, raging rivers, and the possibility of hostile natives. Brigitta was challenged not only physically, but mentally as well, since no one actually had hard proof that the people she's looking for truly existed! In the end, it was her deep love for her work that compelled her to continue her quest. Though she was lead down several false paths, Brigitta finally found what she had been looking for – these fascinating people. And you should have seen the look on her face! Every last euro, every last hardship and danger had been worth it. The TV camera showed Brigitta with a great big smile on her face, snapping picture after picture. She had her treasure!
I want to use Brigitta's story to highlight three themes that are so important to us and that Paul brings out in his letter to the Thessalonians. In 1 Thessalonians 1:3 it says, "We continually 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. The first major thing is Faith – faith that produces action.
Somehow Brigitta had heard about the unique tribe in Papua New Guinea. She was so fascinated that she decided to take months to research and prepare for this incredible adventure. Although this was something she had never seen, she believed it was there and all of her subsequent actions were a result of her faith.
If you truly have faith, then you will have purposeful action. Your faith will move you to action, and your action will show that you truly have faith. James 2:17, "…faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." Do you know how important faith is? In these five short chapters the word faith is mentioned 8 times. Paul didn’t ask how many people were in the church, he didn’t ask if they had a preacher or not, and he didn’t ask about their social status. He wanted to make sure that they were standing firm in their faith. And although the faith of these believers had become well known, he was worried that in the face of persecution their faith would become weak. What if the social pressure was too much? What if they forgot about God’s awesome power and became afraid to witness to their family and friends? He wrote, "For this reason, when I could stand it no longer, I sent Timothy to find out about your faith. I was afraid that in some way the tempter might have tempted you and our efforts might have been useless (3:5).” Paul wants to know about one thing – the state of their faith. In the next verse he says, "But Timothy has just now come to us from you and has brought good news about your faith and love... Therefore, brothers, in all our distress and persecution we were encouraged about you because of your faith. For now we really live, since you are standing firm in the Lord." 3:6-8
The Thessalonians were so deeply changed by the love, truth and grace of Jesus that 1:8 says, "The Lord's message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere." This wasn't something that they believed and hid in a closet somewhere. Their faith came out in action such as turning away from idols to serve the true and living God. And it was so good that they were telling everyone about it, and people were seeing the purity and love that was the mark of their new life in Christ! Their belief in God had become known everywhere. Everyone knew they believed in God.
A question for your church family: has your faith in God become known everywhere? Why or why not?
2. The second major thing is Hope: Endurance inspired by hope in Jesus Christ
I wish you all could have seen Brigitta in this show! Her adventure was very dangerous! Yet this little woman was so inspired by the hope of finding her treasure that no amount of spiders, snakes, or mosquitoes could stop her.
When you have hope in something, you can endure anything. The Thessalonians had hope in the second coming of Jesus and that enabled them to endure severe persecution. Just as Brigitta had to overcome many dangers, these new Christians faced violence, hatred, and being socially outcast. In 1:6 it says, “You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.” And then in 2:14-16 it says, “For you, brothers, became imitators of God's churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus: You suffered from your own countrymen the same things those churches suffered from the Jews, who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and also drove us out.” Why would they be willing accept such difficulty? The reason is because they were so inspired by their hope in Jesus. This was the hope of salvation, the hope of eternal life in heaven with the One who loves us so much. At the end of every chapter, Paul says something about the Second Coming. They really believed that at any moment Christ could come back. And this was power to overcome any obstacle.
What persecution are we experiencing as Christians? As I heard someone on television say recently, “There’s a chance of dying, but look what you’re dying for!”
3. The third major theme is Love: Labor that is prompted by love
Why in the world did Brigitta attempt her adventure? It's because of her love for photography. Ever since the age of three, Brigitta has been in love with photography. What would motivate someone to invest 15,090,000 yen of their own money and risk their very life just for some unique photos? Love.
When you truly love something or someone, it gives you power to do even the most difficult things. The Thessalonians were responding to the greatest love of all time – God’s self-sacrificing, unconditional love.
1 John 4:9 says, “We love because he first loved us.”
All of us have worked hard because we love someone, like our families, for example.
Their love especially showed itself in their relationships. In 4:9,10 Paul says, "Now about brotherly love we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. And in fact, you do love all the brothers throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers, to do so more and more." We need to ask ourselves if love is just a nice idea to us or if we are showing love in action and truth. Is our love directed toward our brothers and sisters in Christ? It’s not easy! That’s why Paul calls it “labor.” Real love is a mark of true discipleship and an indication of a spiritual life. Here is a prayer: "And may the Master pour on the love so it fills your lives and splashes over on everyone around you, just as it does from us to you. May you be infused with strength and purity, filled with confidence in the presence of God our Father when our Master Jesus arrives with all his followers."
All of us have worked hard because we love someone, like our families, for example.
Their love especially showed itself in their relationships. In 4:9,10 Paul says, "Now about brotherly love we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. And in fact, you do love all the brothers throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers, to do so more and more." We need to ask ourselves if love is just a nice idea to us or if we are showing love in action and truth. Is our love directed toward our brothers and sisters in Christ? It’s not easy! That’s why Paul calls it “labor.” Real love is a mark of true discipleship and an indication of a spiritual life. Here is a prayer: "And may the Master pour on the love so it fills your lives and splashes over on everyone around you, just as it does from us to you. May you be infused with strength and purity, filled with confidence in the presence of God our Father when our Master Jesus arrives with all his followers."
At the end here, I want to remember that Brigitta’s story and the Thessalonians story is also our story. At the end of 1 Thessalonians Paul summarizes by returning to these three words, faith, hope and love. "So let's not sleepwalk through life like those others. Let's keep our eyes open and be smart. People sleep at night and get drunk at night. But not us! Since we're creatures of Day, let's act like it. Walk out into the daylight sober, dressed up in faith, love, and the hope of salvation." (5:7-8) Our lives as Christians are exciting, adventurous and even dangerous. If you are not experiencing that as a Christian, I want to challenge you to re-dedicate your life to living for Jesus every day, not just on Sunday. If you are experiencing it, I hope that you are encouraged by the Thessalonians, and that you will encourage your fellow Christians. If you’re not a Christian yet, God is inviting you into his great love and salvation. It is the greatest joy and greatest challenge of all. But when this life is over, no hardship can compare with the everlasting love, joy, rest and peace that we will experience in Heaven. As it says in Romans 8:18, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing to the glory that will be revealed in us.”
2 comments:
This is really good thoughts and comparrisons. Yes, it is for us every step of the way! Well thought out and written and I really enjoyed it! It is good to have you blogging again after such a very busy time in your life.
Love,
Dad
Ben, that was awesome and challenging. Thank you for sharing your insights you get from continuallyu dwelling in the word and communing with the Lord and His family... Sweet stuff! You're my Hero.
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