Faith, Hope, and Love

We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. (1 Thessalonians 1:2-7 ESV). Yesterday we began this little walk through Thessalonians. I ended the first devotional with a phrase Paul uses: your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. These are pivotal for us to understand if we are to grasp the message Paul has for this young community of believers. Paul and his companions are praying fervently for the church at Thessalonica. He expresses deep gratitude to God for them and takes their growth in faith as a sign that they have received not just the words of the gospel but also the Holy Spirit. This is true for all believers. The power to be steadfast in our faith comes not just because the message is compelling, or because it makes things easier, but because the Spirit enables us to believe even in really hard times. How else could the Thessalonians withstand affliction? How else could any of us, facing life’s challenges, stay rooted in the knowledge that we are loved and chosen by God? The suffering that Paul and his companions endured, and the suffering that the early church endured surely isn’t a “selling point” for the gospel; however, a God who makes people joyful even in the midst of affliction is the message that will draw the curious and weary everywhere. And it’s brought by messengers who have credibility because they too have suffered. There’s something mysteriously persuasive about a message that comes from the mouths of those who have sacrificed much for it. Even today, the power of the gospel radiates strongly from those living in places where they have been persecuted for their faith. Through the Spirit’s power, we can hold fast to the gospel and experience how the gospel holds us fast as well. This is the real work of faith in our lives; this is the labor of love that we perform in our relationships with those around us; and, this is the steadfastness of our hope in Christ. So many today have finally run out of other options to assuage their hurting hearts. They have tried so many different ways to escape the pain that dogs them day and night. We have the only means of escape. The only question for us is how we share it with them. May I encourage you to share with the knowledge of grace and forgiveness, not shame and judgment? You will see a great response!