Paul reminds the Thessalonians of how to live in order to please God, and he begins with bodies and relationships. This was particularly challenging in their highly sexualized society (sound familiar?). Paul starts with three commands: avoid sexual immorality, control your body with holiness and honor, and don’t take advantage of anyone in this area. He continues with three reasons connecting them with God: Jesus’ future judgement, God’s past call to holiness, and the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives now. May we also grow in pleasing God and honoring others in this important area.
The Apostle Paul inserts a short prayer at a transition point in his first letter to the Thessalonians. Looking back in the letter, he prays that he’ll soon be able to visit them. Anticipating what is coming next, Paul prays that the Thessalonians’ love will grow and overflow, and that they will extend it to each other and to all people – all in preparation for the day Christ returns. May God use these inspired words to strengthen our hearts in love in the same way.
Paul’s major concerns for the Thessalonians are that they live in hope and holiness – hope because of the reality of Christ’s coming return, and holiness because faith in Christ must shape the way we live. Today we’re seeing Paul’s deep concern for any negative consequences that either their persecution or Paul’s absence might cause. He emphasizes that they are Together in Holiness despite the circumstances. God never meant for us to live our faith in isolation from each other. What does it mean for us to live our lives Together in Holiness today?
Paul faced opposition from outside the church in Philippi and Thessalonica, so he defends himself based both on his own actions and the positive response of the Thessalonian Christians. In this Paul also gives us a lasting model of Leading from the Heart with a series of family images: being as innocent as infants, as loving as nursing mothers, and as nurturing as fathers. Those leadership traits are all under the arch of preaching and living the message of good news that is the very word of God. May Paul’s model shape our lives today in Hope and Holiness.
Paul begins his letter to the Thessalonians with a prayer of thanks for the dramatic way their faith in Jesus changed their lives. Their faith, love, and hope resulted in fruitful lives even in the face of suffering. When religion becomes mere words, work, labor, and endurance, Paul’s letter brings us back to the reality of joy and power in our relationship with Christ as we eagerly wait for his return. This is our new identity in Christ: Living in Hope, Growing in Holiness.