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I ran track all throughout college, and the first week of practice was always the hardest.
Sure, we had been running and lifting all off-season, but there was nothing that could match that first week; nothing could replicate the intensity, the fervor, and the harshness of that first week. Our coach was always there, guiding us and putting our hard work in perspective, reminding us to persevere. He was especially cognizant of the freshman, who had a tendency not to understand what we were doing or why, and was always careful to encourage them.
That is essentially what I Thessalonians is, a letter of encouragement and joy from the apostle Paul to a group of believers who were new in their faith; challenging these new believers to remain strong in their faith and persevere through persecution and opposition.
Paul makes it very clear in verse 1 that the church at Thessalonica is a true church, an ekklesia; “those who are called out, those who are called for a special purpose.”
In verse 2, Paul thanks God for the believers’ dedication and persistence, and brings their names before the Lord in prayerful petition. Paul is thankful for the fruits of grace that were revealed in the lives of the believers.
Verse 3 can be translated various ways:
NASB: constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ and of our God and Father
NIV: We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
ESV: remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
The similarities in the words used within the verse is very striking: Work, labor, endurance, steadfastness, hope, inspired…it seems to me that Paul had something very important to say, something that isn’t quite captured by the English rendering.
When we break down the different words, we find the following:
Work is the word ergon, and denotes something by which an individual is occupied, something that takes up all their time and energy.
Faith is the word pistis, and carries with it the idea of faith, confidence, conviction, commitment, trust, fidelity, and guarantee. It is derived from peithomai (be persuaded, have confidence, obey).
Labor is kopos, and Paul envisions one who beats his breast with grief and sorrow when he uses this word, a beating of the breast which leads to intense labor.
Love is agape, agape being the highest form of the words used for love in the NT, meaning God’s love, love with deep respect, love according to value, love expressed in good will or deeds, love that manifests itself and puts itself on display; literally demonstration of love.
Steadfastness/endurance is hypomone, meaning endurance, from hypomeno, meaning to endure, to wait expectantly. The connotation is of someone who is not swayed from his purposes by even the most severe trials or sufferings. Those reading this in Paul’s time would envision this endurance as the most potent of all virtues, the vigor and perseverance of an Olympic athlete.
Hope here is elpis, referring to hope inspired by Jesus Christ, a confident, expectant, and joyful hope of salvation. This spiritual hope is contrasted with human hope, which is the uncertain or anguished longing for a desired good.
When we put verse 3 back together, we read Paul’s words in a slightly different light:
remembering all your time and energy occupied by obedient works of commitment, your passionate and intense labor of love that is not merely spoken, but demonstrated, and your confident and expectant hope in Jesus Christ, of which you are certain and for whom you endure all things.
The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.
Matthew 13: 44-46
Much of our Christian life is like this: forsaking the many – the things of this world – for the One in whom we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28).
In leaving go of so many things on this earth for the sake of Jesus, there is bound to be fear and anxiety. We know the Gospel is a worthy goal, but that doesn’t make it any easier through the trials and tribulations this life has to offer. We only know that goal as in a dimly lit mirror, for now do we only know in part (1 Corinthians 13: 12).
And so while the day is coming when we will know in full, what sustains us while we travel? What gives us provision while we pursue the treasure or the pearl?
For we know that once we have grabbed hold of that prize, sanctifying grace has had its way in our hearts, and we stand before our Savior fully glorified, we will have neither want nor worry ever again. But what shall carry us on until that day?
Notice our man from Matthew 13:44: When he found the treasure in the field, he went away and in his joy sold all he had for the sake of obtaining the field. In the original Greek text we can see that the man did not manufacture joy in his being or go looking for joy, but that the treasure in the field caused him to have joy.
The prospect of selling all he had to own the treasure was the very cause of his joy. The treasure was so great that it had the power to sustain him in the pursuit of it as well as provide for him once he obtained it.
There was joy inherent within the task of forsaking all in the name of obtaining the One. This was not a task taken begrudgingly or with mere obligation, this was the a cause of joy beyond which the man had never known.
Kierkegaard had it right when he said purity of the heart is to will one thing:
Father in heaven! What is a man without Thee! What is all that he knows, vast accumulation though it be, but a chipped fragment if he does not know Thee! What is all his striving, could it even encompass a world, but a half-finished work if he does not know Thee: Thee the One, who art one thing and who art all!
So go, go on your way and be willing to seek the One thing. The prize awaits you, and while it will indeed provide for you one day, there is joy to carry you through in the meantime as well. Seek Jesus Christ almighty today and find peace, purpose, and perseverance in His grace. Pursue Him with all your might, and He will provide.
Be encouraged and of good cheer, for the Lord knows you and knows what you need, and He does not disappoint.
i am plagued with four herniated discs and degenerative disc disease.
currently, i am under the affliction of having aggravated my condition, and am unable to walk upright without feeling pain and discomfort.
although it is difficult, i do praise God for my ailing back; i wish with all that i am that it were not so, but it is and so i graciously accept it. i don’t blame God, for each time i throw it out i know its my fault.
but it is a constant reminder of this body of death i wear is not the end-all and be-all of existence.
and it is a constant reminder of my need for His strength, of my reliance upon Him.
and it is a constant reminder of the frailty of life and the weakness of human existence.
yet i wish my heart were not so hard…..i wish my head were not so thick.
would that i could learn His ways and see His face simply from just being.
but my eyes are often blinded to the spiritual, and He so desires my attention that if this is what it takes – then i praise my God for His loving affection towards me.
i praise my God for His desire to teach me, grow me, stretch me, mature me, refine me, and draw me closer to Him.
every area of my life that i view as a hindrance – my back, i stutter, i am not a people person and crowds drain my energy – my Savior says, “come to me and submit to me, and in My strength your weakness will be utilized for My Glory.”
