1 Thessalonians 3
by Pastor David Groendyk
One of the reasons Paul writes this letter is because he is being viciously slandered for having fled the city of Thessalonica after planting this church. Today’s chapter is Paul’s most explicit defense of his own actions in having left this church. Paul reports that he is indeed extremely concerned about the church and loves them, so much so that he actually sent one of his co-workers, Timothy, to check in on them at great personal risk.
What was Paul so concerned about that he sent Timothy to check in on them? Their faith (v. 5)! This church had continued to be persecuted severely after Paul left. Surely they had been hurt physically, socially, and financially. But Paul’s primary concern is that their faith remain strong. Losing money or material possessions or even your physical life at the hand of your enemies who hate you is terrible, but the worst result of persecution is that you would give up your faith and so fall away from salvation and lose eternal life. When the tempter tempts you to give up on Jesus Christ and throw away all of this Christianity business, how will you respond? Satan’s endgame is not to hurt or even kill Christians; it is to make us give up Christ. He whispers to us, “God is not good, Jesus doesn’t love you, forget all this!” In those moments, we need to fight to remember God’s love and goodness. Who can you reach out to today that’s in the midst of hardship and may be having their faith shaken? Who can you reach out to and remind about Jesus?
When Timothy brings back a good report to Paul that the Thessalonians’ faith is strong, it gives Paul new life (v. 8). When we see other believers standing firm in the midst of persecution or trial, it is a breath of fresh air for us, isn’t it? It makes us feel as though it really is possible for me to get through my own problems. Do you have relationships like this in the church? Do you have certain people whom you encourage and by whom you can be encouraged? This sort of mutual building up and reinforcing is the model for what Christian friendships should look like. We are part of each other’s lives not just because we all love the Michigan State Spartans or baking or the outdoors or the arts or the same movies. We are part of each other’s lives to sharpen and encourage one another spiritually. Do you have Christian friends like this? If not, who can you reach out to today to begin that relationship?
Finally, we see that this sort of brotherly love and encouragement that should be present in the church is meant to lead us to holiness (v. 13). Love knows that every one of us will be tempted to fall away at some point, and love knows that eternal life and salvation is the most important thing in the world. Without holiness, no one will see the Lord (Heb. 12:14). Therefore, love pushes one another to grow in holiness. Thankfully, God promises to give us the grace we need to grow in that holiness and the grace we need to encourage and push one another. Ask God for more love and boldness in your relationships with your brothers and sisters in Christ.