1 Thessalonians 1:1-3 *
Dear Friends in Christ,
I’ve heard it come up a couple of times in conversation and have to admit I’ve wondered about it myself. Maybe you have, too. Interestingly enough, after I preached this sermon on Thursday night, early the next morning I heard the radio personalities I wake up to discussing this very topic with a surprising openness. What I’m talking about is this:
With all the catastrophic natural disasters that have taken place in such a short period of time – the tsunami disaster in the Pacific Rim area, hurricane Katrina in our own country, and now this earthquake in Pakistan where they are conservatively predicting over 30,000 deaths and rising (not to mention those that will come later through injury and disease) with millions of people being left homeless in a very, very poor part of the world – is God trying to tell us something? And if He is, what is it? What are the lessons?
I believe we could get a pretty good discussion going on that topic.
Some will say that God is preparing us for His return. We’ve had natural disasters before, but the magnitude of these recent events have really gotten our attention. And did not Jesus talk about natural disasters signaling the beginning of the end? Yes He did. So maybe the imminent return of Christ – which we all believe in, but, if we’re honest, often relegate to the distant future – has become more real for us.
Others will say that God is showing a culture obsessed with materialism and the accumulation of “things” just how quickly everything can be taken away. We’ve been reminded how swiftly worldly possessions can disappear, and how true wealth is not what we have physically, but what we have spiritually in Jesus Christ.
Still others will take it a step farther and point to how
quickly a person’s life can come to an end, so we must always be ready to meet
our Maker. The people in the
All of these observations are valid. They are also essentially variations on the same theme, the theme being the importance of living in a state of readiness.
That theme is not new for Christians. Jesus talked about it a lot. And it was certainly not new to the Christians to whom the Apostle Paul originally addressed the words of our text. The fact is that Paul (writing, as always, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit) devotes more time to the Scriptural teaching of “eschatology” (Christ’s return and the end times) in his two letters to the Thessalonians than in all the rest of his letters combined. Just as modern world events have placed this on the minds of many Christians today, it was obviously something also on the minds of Christians roughly twenty centuries ago.
What is especially helpful and instructive for us today is to see how these Christians lived out their lives in view of their understanding that the end – either their personal end or the end of all things in Jesus’ Second Coming – could come at any time. Paul gives them high marks. As such, there is much we can learn from these Christians about
LIVING WITH THE END IN SIGHT
Paul commends them for lives marked by
1. Faith 2.
Love 3. Hope
Our text is the opening verses of the letter known as First
Thessalonians. After extending his
greetings, Paul writes: “We always thank God for all of you,
mentioning you in our prayers. 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.”
What Paul remembered and what he is grateful for is how
these believers distinguished themselves in their faith, their love,
and their hope – all of which were connected to their relationship with
Jesus Christ.
But their faith, love and hope were not just concepts or ideals. They were real and gave evidence of themselves in very concrete ways. So if we change the word order around a little bit, the three things Paul thanked God for in the Thessalonians was that 1) their faith produced work, 2) their love prompted labor, and 3) their hope inspired endurance.
What Paul saw in those Christians and what he thanked God for is so comprehensive that it pretty well summarizes the entire Christian life. Can we not say that the triad of faith, love and hope pretty much forms the underpinning for everything we as believers want to see in ever-increasing measure in our lives?
So, besides being purely informational about how spiritually well-grounded the Thessalonians were, our text also provides us with a paradigm of what we should be praying for. In other words, what Paul prayed about as being present in the lives of the Thessalonians, we really ought to be praying for to be present in our lives. Specifically: that our faith will produce works; our love will prompt labor; and that our hope will inspire endurance. And all those things will happen as we attach ourselves to the same thing the Thessalonians did: Jesus Christ. Let’s talk about this in the time we have left.
Paul first talks about faith. He thanks God that the Thessalonians had come
to faith in Christ. They understood
their sinfulness and their need for a Savior, and they understood that Savior
had come in the person of Jesus Christ.
They understood that through His life, death and resurrection Jesus
forgave their sins and opened the door to fulfilled life in the present and
eternal life in the forever. And the
faith that had taken root in their heart produced fruits in their lives. Paul talks about their work produced by faith.
By the grace of God we possess that same Gospel message. We understand the same blessed truths. Therefore let us pray that, like the Thessalonians, our faith will show itself in works. Let us pray that we do not somehow compartmentalize our faith, but that the Lord will give us the strength and courage and Spirit-worked boldness to have it on display at all times and in all places. In the home, on the job, during recreation, with friends, relatives and co-workers who themselves may or may not be Christians.
Let us pray that we might simply fulfill Jesus’ desire
for us outlined in His Sermon on the Mount where He said: “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it
under a bowl. Instead, they put it on
its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before
men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”
When we talk about Bible History we sometimes refer to certain individuals like Abraham or Moses or Elijah or David as “heroes of faith.” We all know them. But do you know any modern day “heroes of faith?” Christians whose faith so clearly produces works that it can’t be missed? Christians who by the way they talk or their genuinely humble demeanor or their willingness to help or serve without recognition quietly and silently go about their business with no desire for calling attention to themselves, yet their actions set themselves apart from the rest of the world?
I know some of them. And so do you. They are models of a faith-that-produces-works. And to become that kind of person – to more and more produce fruits of faith to the glory of God, to be quietly used by God for His purposes and to His glory – is not only an honor and a privilege; Paul suggests it ought also be a high request on our personal prayer list.
The second thing we can pray for is that our love will labor. Both the word love and the word labor need some definition. We are talking about Christian love here as opposed to the worldly concept of love. It’s always important to distinguish between the two. While the world sees love purely as an emotion or a feeling, God in His Word defines love as an action. In other words, it is something that we do. Think of the great love chapter of the Bible, 1 Corinthians 13. Love is patient, love is kind, it is not self-seeking, etc. Patience, kindness, selflessness, etc., are things that we practice; things that we do.
But because we carry around a selfish sinful nature and because we live in a world that tells us to always put ourselves and our interests first, practicing love the way we should doesn’t always happen. It doesn’t always come naturally. In fact, sometimes it takes effort, exertion… labor. That’s what’s behind the word here. Labor denotes strenuous work. And loving others in the Christian sense is something that we have to work at.
Can it be achieved?
Yes, with God’s help it can, because we have both a model of love and a motivation for love in Jesus Christ. There on a lonely hill outside of
And because He loved us, we can love others. Because He forgave us, we can forgive others. Because we aren’t finished products and because we still carry around the baggage of our sinful nature, we often labor at love. But with God’s help, it can be done. Consequently having the will and the energy and the resolve to labor at love is another petition that we need to daily add to our prayer list.
Finally, let us pray that our hope will inspire us to endure. If you read through the entire book of 1 Thessalonians you will find that Paul had some grave concerns as to whether these young Christians would remain in the faith. They quickly went through trials and persecution because of their newfound allegiance to Jesus Christ as Savior, and Paul was troubled by the possibilities of what might happen. But they stood firm.
Why was this? What was it that allowed them – inspired them – to endure? Answer: The sure hope of salvation and the sure knowledge that they were loved, protected and cared for by their Heavenly Father.
What is it that allows us – inspires us – to endure
the trials and difficulties and the ups and downs in our lives? The same thing. The sure
hope of our eternal salvation. The sure hope that we are dearly loved
children of God to whom Romans
Therefore let us also pray that through Word and sacrament, through Bible study and reading, through devotion and meditation God will increase the sure hope we have in Him and His Word; and along with that give us the ability to always endure whatever He allows to come into our lives.
So, are we living in the last days? Are the natural disasters we have these past months direct predecessors to the return of Christ? Maybe yes, maybe no. Only God knows for sure. But regardless of when the end comes – either personally or cosmically – they certainly are reminders to us that we must always live our lives as Christians in a state of readiness and with the end in sight.
And what kind of life will that be? May what Paul said of the Thessalonians also
be said of us, and may this be our personal prayer as well: that our lives are marked by work produced by faith, labor prompted by
love, and endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. God grant it. Amen.