Hello, my ‘Walking with Jesus’ friends,
As you consider the attributes of people you most respect, people you consider among your closest friends, how important are a strong work ethic, self-motivation, self-discipline, self-sustaining and even frugality? And what about compassion, gentleness, tenderness? Now how often do you see those traits all in the same person?
Let’s rejoin Paul as he is writing to some friends in a city he had only visited once, and he’d only spent three weeks in that city on that first visit! Three weeks! Yet as we watch Paul dictate this, his first letter to Christian friends in Thessalonica, his choice of words would lead us to think these were life long, dear friends!
Listen as Paul continues: “Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the Gospel of God but our lives as well. Surely you remember, brothers and sisters, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order to not be a burden to anyone while we preached the Gospel of God to you.” (1 Thess. 2:7-9)
What do you think Paul meant by reminding these friends that not only had he shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ with them, “but our lives as well.”? Have you noticed life sharing relationships are increasingly few? People are becoming more and more independent and even isolated from each other, even those they live in the same neighborhood with!
Take a moment and think about that. How much do you really know about the people in your neighborhood? How much about their families, their life stories? How long have they lived there, where did they come from? Paul did not come into town, stand up to preach, and then isolate himself from the people. Paul came sharing his life with anyone willing to be a friend and Paul was anxious to learn about the people in each town. Learning the story of that town.
In fact, it seems Paul came wanting to become part of the story of each town, not imposing himself or the Gospel he brought, but rather loving the people, serving the people, sharing his life with the people. And in Thessalonica in only three weeks, it seems many people responded, and Paul made friends, really good friends… in only three weeks!
We know Paul was a scholar, a teacher, a preacher, now he’s also becoming an author. Paul had come to Thessalonica uninvited and unsponsored. He was traveling, you might say, on his own dime, responsible for himself and trusting God to guide him in meeting whatever needs he may find himself facing.
We also know Paul had a skill he had learned many years before which could serve him well, generating some income, as long as he had some time, energy and raw materials for making tents. Remember Paul used that skill when he arrived in Corinth and joined up with Aquila and Priscilla in their tent making shop. (Acts 18:1-3)
Have you ever thought, my friends, about the practical aspect of food and lodging which the apostle Paul and his traveling team faced every day, but especially every time they entered a new city or town where they knew no one and had no prearrangements made for themselves as to the basic necessities of life in that town!?
In the Jewish culture ‘hospitality’ for fellow Jewish travelers who might be new in town was important, however as soon as Paul began to share the Gospel of Jesus and claiming that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah he was often met with resentment and rejection from the Synagogue.
His comments in this letter about his toil as hardship so as to not be a burden to these new friends in Thessalonica lead me to believe Paul fairly quickly found some type of work, perhaps tent making or tent repair, to provide for his basic needs rather than expect those who were expressing an in interest in the Gospel to take him in and provide for him. I deeply respect that, how about you, my friends?
Paul and his team made every effort to care and provide for themselves, while offering God’s love, whatever service they could offer and above all the Gospel teaching which could provide eternal salvation to people who received it and believed in Jesus. . . all at NO charge!
They never asked the people to whom they brought the Gospel for a penny! The Gospel was not for sale! Now ponder that. Do you know people like that? Are you someone like that?
You and I, my friends, are surrounded by people quick to think up ways to make money, develop some product or service people will value enough to pay for, maybe even pay a high price for! Not Paul, not Silas, not Timothy, not even Dr. Luke!
That’s why Paul could write to the Thessalonians: “You are witnesses and so is God of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into His kingdom and glory.” (1 Thess. 2:10-12)
WOW! That profoundly impacts my heart, especially when the country in which I live is facing high inflation with prices on everything climbing almost daily, and every single service or product my wife and I need costs much more today than it did one or two years ago. And when I inquire about the price increases, the answers are almost always the same.
Yet my friends, you and I can’t pay God for His unconditional love for us, and He invites us to pass it along without charge to others, right? So, are we?
We can’t pay God for His forgiveness of us and again God challenges us to pass forgiveness along to those who have harmed us without retribution or conditions, right? So, are we?
We can’t pay God for His Mercy or His Grace, and God calls His people to pass both along to others, without charge or expectations of anything in return. So, are we?
You and I are each building both a reputation and a legacy each and every day, with every person we come into contact with, both near and far, however we have contact with them. These days, technology enables you and me to connect with people all around the world, without seeing them or hearing their voice.
So, it’s time for some questions for all of us, based on what Paul wrote and we’ve discussed, are you ready?
1. Do you and I care for and about people as a nursing mother cares for her babies?
2. Do you and I love people so much we share our LIVES with them, as well as our opinions? It means we serve them, even in silence!
3. Are you and I self-sufficient, with a high work ethic, toiling night and day, so we are not dependent on anyone or any institution sustaining our lives? Have we lived frugally and have we saved well so we have now what we need, even in times of rising inflation which neither you nor I can control?
4. Does your reputation and mine tell the story that we have lived, as Paul said, “holy, righteous and blameless… encouraging, comforting and urging others to live their lives worthy of God…”?
Oh my, Paul has challenged me to some deep personal reflection, how about you, my friends? I think it’s time to have a talk with Jesus, asking Him to help us see honestly how our lives measure up to Paul’s challenge and what Jesus would like to do to help us.
Now the song I’ve selected today is very powerful both in beautiful music and the message, but also look at the faces of the young people playing their orchestra instruments and the young woman singing this song “To Be Like Jesus.”
Today’s Scripture is 1 Thess. 2:7-12.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
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Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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