Tuesday, July 20, 2021

Embracing the Mess

 

“And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.”

1 Thessalonians 5:14

 

Many of us, in the church today, fail to interact with our fellow church members. As I’ve mentioned before, we make in our aim to get in and out of worship in as little time as possible. And, as a result, we don’t truly get to know those who surround us in the pews each week.

 

This can lead to false impressions. From the outside, it seems that everyone else has it all together. We, then, compare that impression with own circumstances, which we know to be a mess.

 

However, when we truly get to know our fellow believers, we find that their lives are a mess as well. We find that they too have problems and difficult circumstances in life. And this can affect us in one of two ways.

 

For some, it’s further reason to separate themselves from the body of Christ. Because their lives are messy, we assume that the faith professed by these people is either weak or non-existent. And it turns us off to the Church, and perhaps to the Christian faith.

 

However, as believers, this reality should create within us a desire to minister to our fellow believers. It should create within us a desire to bless our fellow believers. And, in the passage above, Paul told the Thessalonians how they could do just that.

 

He points out that some, in the church, are prone to idleness. They’re undisciplined and disorderly. They’re slothful and inactive.  And Paul encourages the church to admonish, or to warn, such people.

 

Others are fainthearted. They are disheartened or feebleminded. And they were to encourage such people.

 

Still others are weak. And, while this word can refer to those who are without strength or feeble when it comes to the body, or those who are weak in mind, in power, or in significance, they were to be helped. The body of Christ was to do what it could to assist them.

 

The last phrase, I believe, is the key. Paul tells the church to be patient with them all. Whatever their struggle, whatever their weakness, the church was to be enduring or long-suffering with them.

 

In the same way, as we encounter those in the body of Christ with particular needs or flaws, we’re to bear with them. We are to minister to them in their need by offering both correction and encouragement. And we’re to suffer alongside them as long as the need persists.

Tuesday, July 13, 2021

Peaceful Lives

 “Be at peace among yourselves.”

1 Thessalonians 5:13 ESV


One thing the church is not known for is peace. And when I say this, I’m not referring to the church’s relationships with those of other belief systems. Nor am I talking about actions carried out by the church in ages past, like the Crusades.


I’m referring to the relationships of those within the church. I’m referring to the life of its members. And I think we can agree that it is often anything but peaceful.


There has been some friction in every church of which I’ve been a part, either as a member or a pastor. Some, of course, are worse than others. However, this is true nevertheless.


We can simply chalk this up to our sinful nature, and we wouldn’t be wrong in doing so. Yet this doesn’t excuse the ugly reality that confronts us. We are called to do better.


As we see above, Paul called the members of this congregation to be at peace, or to live peaceably, with one another. Each member was to do his part in this endeavor. He couldn’t, of course, control the actions or the attitudes of others. But, as much as it depended on him, he could be at peace with others.


Paul stated as much in Romans 12:18. While the context of this passage isn’t the church, he reminded the people that it wasn’t their place to take revenge. When they were wronged, they were instead to leave this to the Lord.


He encouraged them to repay evil with good. This, you see, is what it means to live in peace with others. It means extending grace to those who wrong us. It means putting an end to the cycle of vengeance and allowing God to handle it according to his will.


If this isn’t reciprocated we’re, at the very least, testifying to the grace of Jesus by our actions. He, you recall, didn’t seek revenge against those who rejected and harmed him. He, instead, died in their place, paying the penalty of their sin, that they might have peace with God through faith in him.


However, if everyone lives in this way, what a blessing for all. In this way, we each receive grace from our neighbor. And, in this way, the church’s reputation of mutilating our own comes to an end.


This isn’t, of course, something we can do of our own accord. Having received the grace of Jesus, who established us in a state of peace with God, we naturally begin to desire peace with others. We naturally begin to live peaceably with others. And when we fall short, we seek the forgiveness of God that is found in Christ.

Monday, July 05, 2021

The Blessing God Intended


“We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work.”

1 Thessalonians 5:12-13 ESV

 

Many of us, specifically here in the United States, have an extreme libertarian mindset. We believe that we can and should be completely independent, free of any guidance and oversight. In fact, we tend to buck any authority that is placed over us.

 

This is often true within the church, as well. Many of us, as believers, do not believe we need any oversight. We do not believe we need anyone to teach us. And we do not believe we need any accountability whatsoever.

 

I remember being told by a church member, long ago, that Christians ideally need no pastors. He seemed to believe that they are only necessary as a majority of Christians do not engage with the Word of God as they should, nor serve as they are called. This, however, contradicts the clear teaching of Scripture.

 

We are told, quite plainly, that pastors are God’s gift to the church (Ephesians 4:11). They’re given to equip the saints for the work of ministry and for the building up of the body of Christ. And this tells us that they are, in fact, good and necessary.

 

In the above passage, Paul calls on the church to respect those who labor among them, who are over them in the Lord, and who admonish them. They were to esteem these leaders very highly in love because of their work. They were to be esteemed not because of who they were, but because of what they did. After all, according to Jesus, those who are greatest in the kingdom of God are those who serve (Matthew 23:11).

 

I realize that, because I’m a pastor, this may seem rather self-serving. But this isn’t a case of someone in authority telling those under his authority to submit. This is true for all of us, even pastors.

 

Even we need those whom God has placed over us, who admonish us, and who labor among us. We need the encouragement given to us by others who are servant leaders. And we need to be continually equipped, as we continue in our service.

 

For this reason, we must not buck those who are over us in the Lord. We must not think of them as unnecessary. We’re, instead, to receive them as a blessing of God.