I Thessalonians
Rebecca Lightfoot
Interesting that Paul begins 1Thessalonians with mentioning Faith,Hope, & Love in verses 2-3,”We always thank God for all of you,mentioning you in our prayers.We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by FAITH,your labor prompted by LOVE,& your endurance inspired by HOPE in our Lord Jesus Christ.”.In 1Cor13,after Paul tells about all the GOOD things that can be part of our lives as followers of Christ,he says that only 3 of these will truly stand the rest of all time and all circumstances->faith,hope,& love!So,when 1Thes1:2-3 calls out these and gives us a clue as to how faith,hope,&love will live in our lives & through our lives....we should dig in too understand how our lives are doing!1-“work produced by faith”!As much as anything else,this is talking about how my faith is being kneaded into my life and thereby becoming an increasingly significant factor in how I think;how I live;how I respond;how I treat others;how I make decisions,etc.SO,what I think;how I live;how I respond;how I treat others;how I make decisions;etc.,will reveal what kind of faith I truly have,as well as what I truly have faith in!2-“labor prompted by love”!This is talking about what truly motivates my heart/that part of my life that “autonomically” responds to situations&circumstances around me.Do I autonomically respond in ways that the Heart of God would...the way that Jesus would....are my heart motivation “strings” being changed and tuned so my heart resonates in tune with God’s Heart?3-“your hope inspired by endurance”!This talks about what kind of “foundation” my life is being built on/what am I using as guidance&instruction to build a life& will it stand the test of all circumstances through all time?Jesus talks about this n Matthew7:24-27,”“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”This 3rd one is key in having the other 2 be what they NEED to be in our lives.And IF this 3rd one is true for my life,then I need to regularly check the first 2 in my life too make certain that how I am building my life will stand the test of all circumstances and all time...and tell a story of my life of how I “turned from idols to serve the living and true God,and to wait for His Son from Heaven,whom He raised from the dead-Jesus,who rescues us from the coming wrath”(1Thes1:9-10).These verses beg me to ask,”what is the story I am writing for my life.....& what kind of faith and love is being revealed through my life...?”Dear Lord,this one reveals so much about me that I NEED You to change in me/about me.I have allowed other things to become a part of my life/kneaded into my life that are not from You...and areas of “who & what” I am have been shaped in ways that I want to be rescued and reshaped by You.Lord Jesus,please remind me of this prayer regularly...so as my life is reshaped & rebuilt every day,Your Words will be the very foundation as the reshaping&rebuilding occur in my life.