Whether you call them “parting comments” or “footnotes,” Paul makes some interesting statements as he concludes his letter to the Thessalonians. The first of these statements is, “Be at peace among yourselves (5:13).” Paul is urging the members of this church to be at peace with fellow members of the church.
If you’re not at peace with yourself, it’s difficult to be at peace with another person; and if you’re not at peace with God, it is difficult to be at peace with yourself.
Paul also urges these people to “rejoice always (5:16).” Joyfulness is an important component of life, and Paul linked it with love, peace, longsuffering, and kindness when he spoke of the fruit of the Spirit.
The greater your inner joy, the more likely you are to love people, to be kind, and to be longsuffering—Even Nehemiah knew that “the joy of the Lord is your strength (8:10).”
The third statement that Paul makes emphasizes the importance of prayer: “Pray without ceasing (5:17).” Obviously you can’t pray continually, but you can go through the day in an attitude of prayer. There can be miniscule moments of time when you praise God or give Him thanks for a blessing. There will be times when you find yourself thinking of some person or a specific need, and you can offer a voiceless prayer that only God hears.
There’s another item that Paul urges these people to do: “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you (5:18).” To understand this verse, you need to comprehend the difference between “in all” and “for all.” Paul didn’t say that you’re to give thanks for “all things,” but “in all things.”
When you give thanks “in all things,” you’re embracing the hope you have in Jesus Christ; and, your focus is not so much on the here and now of your pain, but on the there and then of future blessings.
The path of trials and tragedies was a route that Paul often traveled. If you’re following in his footsteps, you might find some comfort in his practical theology for life:
Thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, that he is our Father and the source of all mercy and comfort. For he gives us comfort in our trials so that we in turn may be able to give the same sort of strong sympathy to others in theirs. Indeed, experience shows that the more we share Christ’s suffering the more we are able to give of his encouragement. This means that if we experience trouble we can pass on to you comfort and spiritual help; for if we ourselves have been comforted we know how to encourage you to endure patiently the same sort of troubles that we have ourselves endured. We are quite confident that if you have to suffer troubles as we have done, then, like us, you will find the comfort and encouragement of God. ~2 Corinthians 1:3-5
With Christmas in the air and the holiday preparations underfoot, how are you doing? Are you feeling overwhelmed by your commitments and underwhelmed by your resources?
I’ve see it happen more than once: A husband and wife stand side by side as they watch a raging fire engulf their home that housed a lifetime of memories. I’ve heard them ask: “What will we do now. How we will get through the loss of everything we’ve worked for?”
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