Ministry from a Distance

 

 ^“Therefore we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring.”

2 Thessalonians 1:4 ESV

 

As we seek to serve the Lord, our tendency is to think that we can only do so among those who are nearby. We tend to think that we can only serve the Lord among those who surround us on a day-to-day basis. We tend to think that we can only serve the Lord among our family, our friends, and members of the community in which we live.

 

We also tend to think that we can only do so among those we are directly serving. We tend to think that we can serve the Lord only as we minister to them directly. We tend to think that we can serve the Lord only as we personally interact with people.

 

And we tend to think that we can only do so by intentional activity. We tend to think that we can do so only through active service. We tend to think that we do so by something other than our ordinary, day-to-day, life.

 

However, as we see in the above verse, this is far from the truth. We find that we are able to bless people from a distance. In fact, we find that we’re able to influence people without personal interaction or contact. And we find that we can do so by simply living a life of faithfulness.

 

We see in the words of Paul that the church of Thessalonica was doing just that. They were blessing people as the report of their faith was being made by Paul and his companions. They were blessing others as their faith, in the midst of persecution, was being shared with other congregations.

 

We see that Paul boasted about the believers at Thessalonica. And the reason he did so was because they remained faithful in the face of persecution and affliction. In this way, they became an example to other believers in other cities throughout the world of their day.

 

I’m not suggesting that we, as American Christians, are under the same type of persecution and affliction. However, like the believers in Thessalonica, we can serve as an example to others. By simply living out our faith on a regular basis can influence others in their own life of faith.

 

We can influence others as we live out the vocations assigned to us. We can influence others as we live life as a godly husband or wife, father or mother, son or daughter. We can influence others as we live life as a godly employer or employee, ruler or citizen, elite or commoner.

 

I’m also not suggesting that we should boast in ourselves. I’m not suggesting that we should pridefully hold ourselves up as “super-Christians” before others. However, we should realize that people are watching us, believers and unbelievers alike, as we live our life and serve others with faith in Christ.