It's All in How You Look at It

We looked at 1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:5 tonight.  In this passage, Paul is explains how he felt about leaving, and why he sent Timothy back to see the church.  It isn't hard to imagine that Paul and his message were the subject of a devious smear campaign in Thessalonica.  Fearing the worst and unable to go himself, Paul sends an approved worker to check on his people.  This passage demonstrates Paul's tenderness toward his people, and the depth of his concern.

Paul explains that his absence was not his choice.  He states he was "torn away" from the church in "person, but not in heart."  They may have chased Paul out of town, but they had not caused him to forget his beloved church.  He was not absent because he lacked desire, on the contrary, he had a "great desire" to see them again.  He was not absent because he lacked effort, on the contrary, he had "endeavored the more eagerly" to see them again. He was not absent because he lacked love for the church, on the contrary, they were his glory and his joy.

Although his plans to return to them were halted by Satan, Paul was not content to let the matter rest.  He had to know how they were doing, so he sent Timothy.  His knowledge and spiritual maturity made him right for the job; his youth made it possible for him to fly in under the radar.  Timothy's mission was two-fold: he was to strengthen and encourage the believers in their hardship, and he was sent to ease Paul's fear.  Paul knew that he could trust Timothy to accomplish both tasks.

Here are a few implication that arise from the text:

1. The relationship between a minister and the congregation should be one of mutual love, respect, and delight.
2. Our desire for the spiritual well-being of other should motivate us to continue in faithful service to the Lord.
3. Satan strives to undo the work of God.  He is real, and he seeks to hinder us in our service.  We must strive against him.
4. Suffering is part of the Christian experience.  If we want to follow Jesus, we must expect suffering.
5. We must rest in God's Sovereignty.

It Could Be Worse, But You Might Not Think So!

Do you ever find yourself grumbling about all the difficulties in your life?  Does it ever feel like you got the short end of the stick? Or that everyone else has it just a bit better than you do?  The human tendency is to overestimate the actual amount of difficulty in one's life.  Maybe it isn't the human tendency, I just might be the only person who suffers this way.  You see what I mean.

There is a real danger in overemphasizing our own hardships.  Things are rarely as bad as they seem.  If we look hard enough (and sometimes we don't even have to look that hard), it is easy to find someone (or many) who is walking through an even darker valley.  There may be those who have life just a bit better than we do, but there are, most likely, those who have it far worse.

We spend so much of our time focused on what isn't, that we never get around to celebrating what is.  We snuggle up with our regrets as if they offer us warmth and security, when in fact they are slowly squeezing the life from us like a serpent.  Countless hours are wasted on "what ifs" and "if onlys."  It is one thing to look at something you wished you had accomplished in the past, and become motivated to accomplish it now.  However, it is a waste of time to wish you would have done something in the past, while doing absolutely nothing about it.

Yesterday has no potential.  It cannot be undone, only revisited, and even then it only serves to teach us about today.  If we will listen to the past, we will not be doomed to repeat the same mistakes.  It can make us wiser, but only if we refuse to worship it.  We have to go back and ask the right questions.  The wrong questions will only detain us in the past, and keep us making the same mistakes.

Thus, we must learn to reclaim the present, having been informed by, but not chained to the past.  In the present there is only one pressing issue with which we must come to terms: what is it that God would have me to do.  Every other issue will spiral out from this initial one.  Once we know what God would have us to do (the starting point on this journey is trusting Jesus), then we set out to accomplish it.  God has given us everything we need to accomplish his will, if only we will obey his Word.

What that means for us is that time wasted in grumbling would be better spent in prayer and praise.  It mean that God has given us the ability to learn and grow through the difficulties that are in our lives.  It means that there is a greater purpose in our lives than personal euphoria.  God isn't as interested in our comfort as he is in our conformity to the image of his Son.  God isn't as concerned with our happiness as he is with our holiness.  By the grace of God, we can put the past in its proper perspective, and live for the Lord's glory both now and forever.