This short prayer of thanksgiving takes us to the topic of “faith, love and hope” which we have dealt with in previous prayer. Therefore, I would just like to add some thoughts about these basic qualities of the life of a Christian and a church.
·
First, here are other passages that feature
these qualities: Rom. 5:2-5; 1 Cor. 13:13; Galatians 5:5-6; Ephesians 1:15-19 (one
of Paul’s prayers); Col. 1:3-12 (our most recent prayer), 1 Thess. 5:8 (keys to
godly living in the last days); 2 Thess. 1:3-4 (though mature they are still
growing in these); Heb. 10:22-24 (our response to having Christ as our High
Priest); and 1 Peter 1:21-22.
·
Here are working definitions, by which I mean,
not so much theological or dictionary definitions but a description of what it
means to actually live lives that exhibit these qualities.
o Faith:
visualizing what God intends to do in a situation and ordering my life
accordingly. This looks back at
Christ. He exercised this faith in His
Father in the Garden of Gethsemane. Father,
if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but
as You will. … Rise, let us be
going. See, My betrayer is at hand
(Mt. 26:39,46).
o Love:
giving to the basic needs of others without the motive of personal reward. I like, or perhaps should say, I need this
reminder. Love is good to others
regardless their response. It does not
depend on either being well received or on reciprocation. “Father, by your Spirit and grace!” And of course, we again note that Christ is
the epitome of love, fulfilled on the cross (1 John 4:10-11,19).
o Hope:
Patient confidence that in the future God will fulfill His Word to us. I have to be careful with this. His “word” is the key here. It does not say He will solve all my problems
or get rid of my enemies. I need to
remember that He has promised to do good to me, and that the ultimate good is
to conform me to the image of His Son.
That is more, far more, important than my comfort. This is also seen most clearly in
Christ. When He said, on the cross, into
Thy hands I commit My spirit (Lk. 23:46), He was putting His hope in the
Father to fulfill His Word, the promise of resurrection.
Paul gives thanks in today’s passage for God’s
work in Thessalonica. That was an
amazing situation. It appears from Acts
(ch. 17) that Paul was only there for, perhaps, three weeks. Then he left in a hurry. But as you read 1 Thess. 1-3 he is giving a
recap of that experience and how God worked through the gospel to establish a
wonderful fellowship that was already exhibiting Christ through faith, hope and
love. May it be so with us, and in our
fellowships.
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