Protecting Christ's Reputation; 1 Thessalonians 1-3

May the mumbling commence!

Does your reputation precede you?  Is that a good thing or not?  Let us remember two things.

1.     Our deeds in one particular place will help to form our deeds as we move on to another place.

2.     We should neither rest on our laurels nor allow past failures to defeat us again.

Yes, remember: What you do now will help to form who you will become.  It is essential to grasp this fact in our Christian lives.  Read from First Thessalonians chapter one:

You remember how, although accepting the message meant bitter persecution, yet you experienced the joy of the Holy Spirit. You thus became examples to all who believe in Macedonia and Achaia. You have become a sort of sounding-board from which the Word of the Lord has rung out, not only in Macedonia and Achaia but everywhere where the story of your faith in God has become known. We find we don't have to tell people about it. They tell us the story of our coming to you: how you turned from idols to serve the true living God, and how your whole lives now look forward to the coming of his Son from heaven – the Son Jesus, whom God raised from the dead, and who personally delivered us from the judgment which hung over our heads. (Verses 6b-10)

Oh, to be a sounding board for Christ!  What does a sounding board do?  In a piano, it amplifies the sound of the strings.  The distant echoes of the work of Christ become enough to fill a large sanctuary with beautiful music.  Oh, to be a sounding board for Christ!

Let us ask ourselves a question: Does the denomination or district of the church we attend have to tell people in our surrounding communities what good work we accomplish for the name of Christ?  Or do the denomination or district officials have to tell the community about the church body?

To be a sounding board for Christ means that Christ’s message must resonate far beyond the four walls of our sanctuary.  It means turning from idols that plague our society.  It means investing our whole lives in moving forward with Jesus in our lives.

And, all of this happens in the midst of mercy given in place of judgment.  This happens in the midst of grace given in the place of our just desserts.  We do not command an audience in and of ourselves.  It is only for Jesus that we make the journey of the Christian faith.

Yes, our reputation precedes us.  It is up to the Holy Spirit working through us to make that a good thing.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out