Day 195

Key Verses: 3, 6, 9, 10,

Destined for persecution, that’s what I signed up for! That’s what Paul told those at the city of Thessalonica, and that is what he personally experienced within three weeks of beginning to preach the fullness of the Gospel there. They had to send him on his way quickly so that he would not be killed.

But Paul told them that they would also undergo trials because they trusted Christ. Here they are, brand new Jesus-followers, and Paul is telling them that they will be persecuted. We certainly don’t hear this message too often in the Western Church. Today, those in the 10/40 window experience this every day. Their current experience is one of persecution. Perhaps ours should be as well. I often wonder if there is something wrong with my living of the Gospel that it has become so non-offensive to unbelievers, that I fit in too well with my culture.

Paul was concerned for their further development in Christ and sent Timothy to be sure that they were not dissuaded from the Truth by the current persecution. Timothy returned with a good report about their progress in the faith. There was a joy that Paul experienced that was the unique fruit of this kind of encouragement. When we view our spiritual walk from God’s eternal perspective, then when there is progress in that walk, joy of an eternal nature is the result. But if you view the spiritual as a nice thing to have, but certainly not essential, then a shrug of the shoulders greets growth.

Paul overflows in his language of joy, but he also prays. He doesn’t want to take their continued growth and development for granted. This is a spiritual battle, after all. Paul wants to continue rooting them in the Truth. That is why he want to return to them and continue his work among them. Remember, he only spent three weeks or so with them. That is not very much time to establish someone in the Faith.

Notice the two concluding topics: love and strengthen. Both of these move us toward right living with a view of Christ’s second coming clearly in focus. Here again the reality of Christ’s second coming plays a prominent role in the lives of those who are being persecuted. In those final moments, all will be made right, all sin will be vanquished, all wrongs righted, all joys fulfilled. That is the moment all our hearts yearn for. It is the restoration of the Garden experience. We will walk with God in the cool of the evening. Nothing will prevent the full experience of God’s presence and provision. Peace!