2 Thessalonians 1:1-4

1   Paul, Silas and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: ² Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. ³ We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing. ⁴ Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring. ^[1]

As Paul begins his second letter to the church in Thessalonica, he commends them for two things: their ever increasing faith and their love one for the other. It strikes me that these are two things that should characterize the church today, and in many places it does. However, there are places in the post-modern church where these two things are not emphasized and do not characterize the church. In these places the church has become much more about business and activity for the whole family than it is about building faith in God and love for one another.

I grieve over a church that has been a recreational activity rather than a place to worship and exalt the Lord. In many places the church has become such a finely oiled machine that it is no longer readily apparent whom we are worshiping. If Jesus were to be taken out of the church altogether in these places the church would not cease to exist and would continue as if nothing had changed. The Thessalonian church became so proficient in growing their faith and learning to love each more and more that Paul boasted about it to the other churches.

Would not it be wonderful if the churches we attended and/or led were known for ever increasing faith and love for each other? The Thessalonian church discovered what it took to persevere through their trials and tribulation. It was not an award winning choir, an enviable Christian education department, or even a powerful preacher. It was their faith in God and their love for one another. The days in which we are living are evil and will continue to become even more so. We will suffer from persecution and trials of all kinds. Jesus, himself, told us that we would have trials but we could be encouraged because He had overcome the world (John 16:33). We need a faith strong enough to see us through and a love for one another strong enough to stand with and for one another. Let us, therefore, build our faith in God and His Word, and our love for the people of God so that we will be able to stand in the day of trial.

Lord, like the man who brought his son to you to be healed, we believe but ask that you help our unbelief. We confess that much of our faith is routine and not genuine. We are guilty of going through the motions much of the time. We fail to pray. We fail to study and we fail to demonstrate our love for our sisters and brothers. Help us today to grow in faith and love. Move us past the perfunctory to that which is genuine and sincere so that we might be ale to overcome every trial we endure today and the days that are yet to come. Amen.