1 Thessalonians 1:6-7 You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. 7 And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.
There is the old adage that says, “Oil and water don’t mix.” This was true until hydrogenated vegetable oil was invented. Oil and water can be forced to mix, but not without a lot of pressure being applied.
There are other things in life that don’t seem to fit together. Our text highlights one of those situations where two seemingly incompatible things come together and make a positive. These two elements are severe suffering and joy. Severe suffering and despair go together! Everything falling into place on a big project and joy go together. Suffering and joy, no way!
But this is exactly what Paul says the Jesus-followers in the city of Thessalonica experienced. When Paul had come to their city and began proclaiming the message of Jesus, some of the Jewish leaders were jealous of Paul’s influence and began to put pressure on those following Paul’s example. And when I say ‘pressure’, what I really mean is that they wanted to kill Paul. Now that is pressure.
For Paul, severe suffering is part of the Gospel message. Believers should expect severe suffering; it is a mark of membership in the Body of Christ. Paul experienced this kind of suffering as did Jesus Himself. And not the believers in this Roman city began to suffer when they accepted Paul’s message.
Here in the West, we think that becoming a Christian takes suffering away. We paint the picture that it will be smooth sailing from here on out. But Paul commends these new believers because they were willing to suffer, just like Jesus suffered.
The reason they could imitate Paul and Jesus in their suffering was because the Holy Spirit gave them joy! Now joy is not the same as happiness. Happiness is too often dictated by circumstances. When things are going well, happiness follows. When things go south, happiness leaves.
But joy can transcend the circumstances of life. These new believers had joy even as they were experiencing severe suffering. This joy was present because of the presence of the Holy Spirit. Joy is one of the fruit of His presence with us. Joy can exist side by side with grief, sadness, and even severe suffering.
These believers’ acceptance of their suffering meant that they understood the implications of the Gospel message. Suffering is part of the message. Their example served and serves as a model during their time and now during our day.
There are believers, right now, who are dying for their faith in Jesus. In Afghanistan, Christians are being murdered. The evils of Islam are on full display, just as they were twenty years ago in New York, Washington, DC and in Pennsylvania. Islam is not a peaceful religion. Don’t believe the propaganda; watch the actions.
These believers that Paul writes to were the real deal. Their actions matched their confession, even in the middle of severe persecution. Will our actions match our confession when persecution comes? They will if we allow the Holy Spirit to be in charge in those moments. We will even experience joy.
The Arnold Journey 