The Way - Day 056 (1 Thessalonians 3)

Pastor Tom's Journal on Today's Reading:
1 Thessalonians 3
Paul greatly loved the church at Thessalonica and his separation from them caused him much anguish. He viewed them as his spiritual children and felt responsible for their well-being. Since Paul had been away from them for some time, he had a strong desire to know how they were doing so he sent Timothy to encourage them in their faith (3:2). Persecution is a natural part of choosing to follow Christ and Paul was concerned that pressure from so-called religious leaders would cause them to lose heart and maybe even abandon their faith. The apostle Paul warned them that they would suffer persecution as a result of their newfound faith, but he challenged them not to allow hardship to shake their faith (3:3-4) and realize Satan was behind these efforts to destroy their faith (3:5). But, now that Timothy had returned to Paul with a glowing report of the church at Thessalonica he was "comforted...by your faith." (3:6-8) Paul desired to see the Thessalonians soon and that he would find them becoming more mature in their faith (3:9-10). During their time of separation Paul prayed that the Lord would help them to "increase and abound in love to one another and to all...so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness." (3:12-13) 1 Thessalonians 3 is a challenge to all believers to be concerned for the spiritual well-being of others. When Christians are suffering or experiencing challenges in their faith, we should desperately pray for their strength and reach out to them in any way possible. God forbid that we become so consumed with ourselves that we forget about what many others are experiencing in their lives. Think beyond the United States to many other countries where believers are being persecuted and even killed for their faith. Every person in the faith is important and when one is hurting, the whole should hurt with them. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul uses the illustration of all the parts of the body to represent each member of God's family. As the body needs each part to function properly, the church needs each person to do their part in order to carry out the work of Jesus Christ. When a part of the body hurts, the rest of the body also hurts. This illustration led Paul to write in 1 Corinthians 12:26: "if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it." As Paul was concerned about the spiritual vitality of the Thessalonians, we also should care about others.

Dear God, make me aware of what others are going through and help me to reach out to them in love, encouraging them to keep the faith.