Scripture Reading(s)
1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
5:1 Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anything written to you.
5:2 For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
5:3 When they say, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there will be no escape!
5:4 But you, beloved, are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief;
5:5 for you are all children of light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness.
5:6 So then let us not fall asleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober;
5:7 for those who sleep sleep at night, and those who are drunk get drunk at night.
5:8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.
5:9 For God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
5:10 who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep we may live with him.
5:11 Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing.
Reflections
The Church in Thessalonica was heavily persecuted, yet they waited for the return of the Lord with great patience and love for one another. However, they were quite concerned about how long they would have to wait until Jesus returned and about what to do until He returned. One question that arose in time was whether or not their loved ones who had already died would be with Jesus in the new Kingdom. Paul informs them that they indeed will be with them but also that they ought to wait for the return of the Lord with joy and serving one another with love.
Today we have entire church and religious groups who do nothing but try to figure out when the 2nd coming will happen. They spend a lot of money trying to convince people of their dating but they are doing nothing to actually serve the Lord. The work of the Lord is not guessing the date of His return; it’s serving our brothers and sisters and manifesting the love and hope of Christ here on the earth, until He comes.
Being part of a church that is under major persecution is not something that most modern day churches can fully grasp or understand. We do not experience the same fear that other countries do where loving Christ is outlawed and where some have even suffered brutal beatings and cost them their very lives.
As Christians, this particular passage is speaking to putting our hope in God returning to take His people again. However, we do not know the time in which all of this will take place, therefore our role is to keep our eyes focused on that promise and rely on God’s strength to carry us through each day. Trusting in God’s faithfulness towards us is what we can use to help anchor our faith during hard times. It is a message that we can preach to those who maybe are suffering or have not yet been introduced to the message of the gospel.
There may be times when you have suffered some type of persecution in one form of another for your faith. It may have been being mocked by a co-worker, friend or family member. The world is not easily accepting of the message of the Gospel because it is one that offends and goes against their rebellious human nature. Placing our eternal hope in Jesus coming to take us again is a promise that is so strong that nothing can thwart it. Our job is not to focus on the time, it is to focus on believing that God will come when He means to, and on that day we can rejoice even more in being able to experience the reality of spending eternity with Him.
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