Epistle for October 29, 2017

START WITH SCRIPTURE:

1 Thessalonians 2:1-8

CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This passage provides some fascinating personal details about Paul’s missionary journey and how he was received in both Philippi and Thessalonika.  In Philippi, he and Silas were briefly imprisoned and flogged by the Roman authorities as Jewish troublemakers. They were accused of teaching customs contrary to Roman values.

In Thessalonika, ironically, it was the Jewish leaders of the local synagogue who were hostile to this new teaching about Jesus the Messiah, who had been raised from the dead.  In Thessalonika, their teaching stirred up riots.

It seems they couldn’t win!  The Romans and Gentiles suspected them of corrupting Roman culture; and the Jews, (their own countrymen), feared their new teaching!

But Paul cites the boldness of their preaching even in the face of stiff opposition.  It seems from his words that some were accusing the missionaries of self-interest or trickery, perhaps because their preaching was sometimes accompanied by healing and exorcism.  And Paul is making very clear that their preaching, though it provoked persecution, was motivated only by the desire to please God.

In fact, Paul is making quite clear that the good opinion and flattery of the crowds is not what motivates him to preach the Gospel.  He only has an eye to the approval of God.  Their motivation as missionaries is only to care for the Thessalonian Christians as children in Christ, driven purely by love.  He even uses a vivid image:

But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother cherishes her own children.

His message isn’t just words — he shared himself as well.  His commitment wasn’t merely a duty — it was personal.

APPLY:  

Perhaps missionaries today can identify with the persecution and trials that Paul and Silas experienced in Philippi and Thessalonika.  A few years ago, a missionary to Tanzania visited our church and preached the Sunday morning sermon.  He  shared stories afterward with my wife and I about other missionaries who had been persecuted, and one Catholic priest on the coast of Tanzania who had been beheaded.  It was a sobering conversation.

Whatever our difficulties as Christians in the U.S., we don’t experience that level of suffering for our faith.  However, we are still called to be people of integrity.

We can learn from Paul’s clear self-differentiation that we are to be differentiated ourselves.  Here’s what I mean by that — Paul makes clear to the Thessalonians that he is motivated not by praise or flattery. His only desire is to please God.  Do we do what we do for the sake of praise or affirmation, or because we are seeking to do what we believe God wants us to do?  Flattery and praise can easily turn to criticism (given the fickleness of popularity), but if we are committed first and foremost to pleasing God alone, then criticism and even persecution will be bearable.

The Puritans used to have a saying: “I have an audience of One.”  In other words, ultimately I am accountable to God, and I really only want his praise and approval.

One more thing – having said all that, it is clear that Paul is motivated to preach the Gospel and serve these people because he loves them.  He embodies the teaching of the Gospels — that we are to love God with all our being, and love our neighbor as ourselves.  So his sharing of the Gospel is not just the message, but also himself.  He has put his whole being out there for their sake!

RESPOND: 

I resolve to make my aim only obedience to God, and seek to please him, not seeking the praise and approval of other people.  If I please God, then nothing that anyone gives or takes away from me will ever match hearing God say “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Our Lord, I confess that my head is easily turned by the praise and approval of others; and that I’m also too easily hurt by criticism.  Sink my roots so deeply into your love and grace that I don’t look anywhere else to have my emotional needs met.  At the same time, help me to be so in love with you that I love other people for your sake.  Amen.

 PHOTOS:
"Verse 13 1 Thessalonians 2:4" by Jess is available at www.brightgreendoor.com