You're the Message; First Thessalonians

May the mumbling commence!

Christians, take note!  Sometimes, you are the only Jesus someone knows.  It is a sobering thought.

How well am I representing Christ in my community?  How well am I walking in the Way of Jesus- in obedience to God?  These are important questions to ask of ourselves and of those people who know us best.  Let us seek the answers and hope that we do well in comparison to the church of Thessalonica of Paul’s day.

Read from First Thessalonians chapter one (Peterson’s The Message paraphrase):

Do you know that all over the provinces of both Macedonia and Achaia believers look up to you?  The word has gotten around.  Your lives are echoing the Master’s Word, not only in the provinces but all over the place.  The news of your faith in God is out.  We don’t even have to say anything anymore – you’re the message!  People come up and tell us how you received us with open arms, how you deserted the dead idols of your old life so you could embrace and serve God, the true God.  They marvel at how expectantly you await the arrival of his Son, whom he raised from the dead – Jesus, who rescued us from certain doom. (Verses 8-10)

You’re the message.  Can you believe it?  It can be so when we follow the Way of Jesus, the Way of obedience to the Lord God.

By faith, we need to trust in the return of Christ.  That trust means deserting idols from our former way of life.  Do we have idols today?  Yes, we do.  Don’t try to fool anyone.

Don’t put your faith in your own strength – or the strength of your country or nation.  That strength will fail.  Don’t put you faith in your wealth.  That wealth with disappear by thieves and rust and moths.  Don’t put your faith in having the right knowledge or information.  The only knowledge or information worth knowing is accepting Jesus’ Way as the Way.

If we trust only in Jesus, the ripples of our attitudes and thoughts and actions will cause people to take notice.  We, like the Thessalonians, will be the message because we are living the Message of God’s love in a doom and gloom world.

Sometimes, we are the only Jesus that people know.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out