1 Paul and Silvanus and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: 2 Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brethren, as is only fitting, because your faith is greatly enlarged, and the love of each one of you toward one another grows ever greater; 4 therefore, we ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure. 5 This is a plain indication of God’s righteous judgment so that you will be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which indeed you are suffering.2 Thessalonians 1:1–5
Things had heated up for Thessalonians in a matter of months. As such, Paul was moved to write them again. Like your physician begins his conversation with you, Paul notes what was good on their chart, their greatly enlarged faith, their growing love for each other, and their steadfastness through growing persecution. Then came the more or less comforting pronouncement that their condition was normal under the circumstances, a “plain indication of God’s righteous judgment in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure.” 2 Thessalonians 1:4
What was ailing them was being dealt with by their own antibodies, those that they were reborn with. Afterwards they’d be even more resilient and resistant to attack.
But Paul would move on to address the root causes of their condition. While the persecution was real, they’d taken in wrong information. Like we might be inclined to self-diagnose after watching a video or reading a book, the church wrongly assumed more intense persecution was a clear sign that they were indeed experiencing “end times.” Further, they had been influenced by a letter not from Paul that postulated the Lord’s return was near, and thus the heightened tribulation. What’s more, because they were preoccupied with “the end of the world,” they weren’t carrying on with life and fulfilling their obligations to work to make ends meet and put food on the table. There is the saying, “they were so heavenly minded they were no earthly good.”
There are those in the church whose focus rarely lands on the expectation of the Lord returning. They’ll cite in times of turmoil “it’s always been this way,” and list previous dictators who had the world (or parts of it) by the throat. They might also observe there are always pockets of Christians around the world under heavy persecution. Both observations are correct. Certainly there are “wars and rumors of war,” and personal suffering for the cause of Christ can change one’s perspective.
Then there are others who become wrapped up and singularly focused on the Lord’s return. It is the object of our hope for sure, but it seems from what Paul is about to teach us in this letter we tuck this very certain future reality deep inside and tap it for constant peace, not as an occasion for some kind of “death watch.”
Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. The Lord be with you all! 2 Thessalonians 3:16
As our antibodies course through our veins constantly taking on infection, so too our hope in Christ’s return keeps us spiritually healthy. So too a balanced diet.
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