TWO BIG THINGS
2 Thessalonians 1:3-4 NKJV
3 We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other, 4 so that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure,
You have noticed that, as humans, we want to boil things down to the one thing that we need to do to be successful. What is the one key principle of success? What is the one thing we can do to improve our relationships? The Pharisees would ask Jesus what is the one greatest commandment? And Jesus gave them two: basically, love God and love your neighbor. Paul commends the church at Thessalonica for two things they are doing. Their faith is growing, and their love for one another is increasing.
These were the days of the early church. There was no church culture at that time, nothing close to what we have in America today. Even with all the opposition we face, it does not compare with what the early church experienced. So, Paul boiled down the two key things that mattered most. The two markers that caused him to give thanks to God—their faith and their love.
Because of their faith and love, Paul and his companions would boast about the Thessalonian church to the other churches they would visit. They would boast about how the Thessalonian church was staying strong and not giving in to the pressure from all the persecution they had to endure. Even in the middle of difficult times, this church was not wavering in its faith and not moving away from the gospel message. Their faith and love was what spoke to Paul the most.
APPLICATION
What gives us hope today is the fact that our faith can grow and our love can increase. These are not fixed qualities such as height or eye color. Because our faith and love can grow, we can't say that we were just given a little faith or that we are not a loving person. Wherever we are now in our faith and love we can increase. To me that's so encouraging. The idea that I am stuck without the ability to increase is not a good thought.
So, how does our faith and love grow and increase? We have to use them. We must practice using our faith and walking in love. We know this from a natural standpoint. We must use our muscles, or they will atrophy. Oh, they are still there, but they are in a weakened state. We must use our mind or it can grow dull. Anything we want to develop in our lives will require some energy and effort on our part. There is no heavenly dust that lands on us and causes us to grow. We do have the Holy Spirit to help us and teach us. We do have God's Word, which will feed our faith. Now, we put into practice what we know from God's Word. We rejoice instead of becoming despondent. We pray for others instead of lashing out at the ones who have not lived up to our expectations. We stay steady with the Lord and are thankful to Him even when we are going through difficult times.
Challenging? Yes. Impossible? Absolutely not. We have the capacity to grow in our faith and in our love for one another. But let's not wait. Let's look for ways today to exercise our faith in God and walk in love with those around us. We want the Lord to look at us and smile and say, "Look at them. They are doing great." Let's go! Let's grow!
PRAYER
Lord, I want You to be pleased with my faith and my love. Thank You that I have the capacity because of You. Guide me today as to how I can increase in both areas.