Aligning up
This week is on 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12:
These verses come after the Apostle Paul was talking about some cool stuff that was going on in the church of Thessaloníki in Greece, which I may get into in a future study. He talks about their growing love, and about the judgment of God, and then he shares these verses. With both carrot and stick considered, Paul and his crew were praying for that church, which he had just praised.
The church in Thessaloníki was doing what a church was supposed to be doing and people were still praying for them. Paul was praying that God would make them worthy of his calling. We mess up. We have human limits. God calls us into things that sometimes are bigger than we are capable of doing on our own. Moses and Joshua are examples of guys in the old testament who were called into things bigger than they were. God helped them. Paul's prayer is that God would improve and perfect them to be useful in the outrageous adventure he'd called them into.
Paul also prays that their every desire for goodness and their every deed prompted by faith would be brought to fruition. That means that the Holy Spirit and His love were prompting them to do good things. People try to puff themselves up by trying to define what goodness is, but Paul doesn't here. He and the Thessalonians all know what he's talking about, and chances are we'd recognize it ourselves. When the Holy Spirit is in a place I am in, I often feel prompted to do "good" things. Does that make me a slave to morality? A do-gooder? No. It just means I'm interacting with God on a wordless level. His love becomes my love. The Thessalonians were caught up in God's love and Paul didn't want that love to be thwarted.
Paul also prays that the name of Jesus would be glorified in the Thessalonian church. How many of us pray that or care about it? If the name of Jesus is gloried, it means yours isn't. If your name is glorified, it means God's name isn't, because it's you who are receiving the glory. It's hard for that to sink in. It means you'll work and get no credit. No anniversaries or titles or newspaper articles. People won't talk about your ministry. People won't buy your merchandise. They'll just see how great Jesus is, not necessarily how great you are. His glory is our glory because we are His.
In our lives, as we converge towards godliness, we should pray these things for ourselves and each other that Paul prayed for the Thessalonian church. We want to grow and change and begin to fit our job description in God's kingdom. Who wants to fail and never triumph? We want outlets to help people and express the love and power that the Holy Spirit places in us when we know him. Who wants to be isolated and fruitless? We want the name of Jesus to be glorified and for people to associate us with His name, not with our own. Who really wants to compete with God? I'd rather be forgotten, and see His perfect work surround me, than to have my feeble efforts be the only thing people get to see.
We're not in some waiting room here on earth, reading articles until we're finally allowed to go to heaven. This is part of eternity. There is actual work to be done now. God is with us now, not just at some future point. If we don't get it, and others don't get it, we don't get a second chance. Our choices aren't meaningless; they shape eternity. So even if you're doing well, you still need prayer for God's help.
With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith. We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
These verses come after the Apostle Paul was talking about some cool stuff that was going on in the church of Thessaloníki in Greece, which I may get into in a future study. He talks about their growing love, and about the judgment of God, and then he shares these verses. With both carrot and stick considered, Paul and his crew were praying for that church, which he had just praised.
The church in Thessaloníki was doing what a church was supposed to be doing and people were still praying for them. Paul was praying that God would make them worthy of his calling. We mess up. We have human limits. God calls us into things that sometimes are bigger than we are capable of doing on our own. Moses and Joshua are examples of guys in the old testament who were called into things bigger than they were. God helped them. Paul's prayer is that God would improve and perfect them to be useful in the outrageous adventure he'd called them into.
Paul also prays that their every desire for goodness and their every deed prompted by faith would be brought to fruition. That means that the Holy Spirit and His love were prompting them to do good things. People try to puff themselves up by trying to define what goodness is, but Paul doesn't here. He and the Thessalonians all know what he's talking about, and chances are we'd recognize it ourselves. When the Holy Spirit is in a place I am in, I often feel prompted to do "good" things. Does that make me a slave to morality? A do-gooder? No. It just means I'm interacting with God on a wordless level. His love becomes my love. The Thessalonians were caught up in God's love and Paul didn't want that love to be thwarted.
Paul also prays that the name of Jesus would be glorified in the Thessalonian church. How many of us pray that or care about it? If the name of Jesus is gloried, it means yours isn't. If your name is glorified, it means God's name isn't, because it's you who are receiving the glory. It's hard for that to sink in. It means you'll work and get no credit. No anniversaries or titles or newspaper articles. People won't talk about your ministry. People won't buy your merchandise. They'll just see how great Jesus is, not necessarily how great you are. His glory is our glory because we are His.
In our lives, as we converge towards godliness, we should pray these things for ourselves and each other that Paul prayed for the Thessalonian church. We want to grow and change and begin to fit our job description in God's kingdom. Who wants to fail and never triumph? We want outlets to help people and express the love and power that the Holy Spirit places in us when we know him. Who wants to be isolated and fruitless? We want the name of Jesus to be glorified and for people to associate us with His name, not with our own. Who really wants to compete with God? I'd rather be forgotten, and see His perfect work surround me, than to have my feeble efforts be the only thing people get to see.
We're not in some waiting room here on earth, reading articles until we're finally allowed to go to heaven. This is part of eternity. There is actual work to be done now. God is with us now, not just at some future point. If we don't get it, and others don't get it, we don't get a second chance. Our choices aren't meaningless; they shape eternity. So even if you're doing well, you still need prayer for God's help.
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