1 Thessalonians 1:1 – Paul, Silas and Timothy,

To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace to you.

2 We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. 3 We 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.

4 For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. 6 You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. 7 And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. 8 The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, 9 for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath. (NIV)

Today’s reading comes from the opening verses of Paul’s first letter to the church in Thessalonica.  Paul had great success as a church planter in Thessalonica, and this letter was written as a follow up sometime around the year 52.  There are two great lessons to be learned from these opening verses, and I would like to look at a couple of those today. 

First, the Christians in Thessalonica became imitators of not only those who preached the Gospel, but of Jesus (verses 6).  There is no higher calling in the life of a Christian than to be an imitator of Jesus.  The Apostle John, in 3 John 1:11, warns us not to imitate the things of this world.  As we seek to live out our daily lives, let our goal be to imitate the characteristics we find modeled throughout the life of Jesus. 

Secondly, Paul writes that the Christians in Thessalonica became a model to all believers (verse 7).  When we imitate Jesus, our example will be noticed.  Paul tells them that the Lord’s message rang out from them (verse 8).  A good question for us to ask ourselves daily is this: What message is ringing out from our lives?  Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord is ringing out a message.  That message may be a passive message, or one of indifference to the things of Jesus.  Our message should be that we take Jesus seriously, and that we believe not only in the salvation that Jesus offers, but in the life he calls us to live. 

Today, let the great message of love and peace ring out from our lives, so that the world may see!

Posted by Ramón Torres