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2 Thessalonians: Freedom day
Welcome to the weekly lift number 79, Tuesday 12th October 2021, as we continue in thankfulness through the New Testament. Today we look at Paul's second letter to the Thessalonians: "Thankful for perseverance."
It was a bit of a mixed blessing yesterday when the restrictions eased and those who have been fully vaccinated were allowed to get out and do (limited) things. One cry I heard from a government spokesperson was "Go out and spend money". I'm sure many did. But actually, it seems that people were less likely to go to the shops and more likely to go and have a face to face visit with someone. That's what I did first thing on Monday. Coffee and a walk with a friend. Such freedom!
But it is a mixed blessing. For two reasons. This is a week to remember that many still do not have these freedoms restored. It is also a reminder of how much freedom we had lost over the past 106 days in Sydney. 106 days and still some do not have freedom. Paul writes with thanks to the Thessalonian church:
2 Thessalonians 1:3-4
3We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing. 4Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.
Of course the persecutions and trials for the Thessalonians were much different to our present trials.They were suffering for their faith. We are suffering along with the whole world. But what is helpful is the way they responded to their trials - their faith was growing more and more and their love for one another was increasing.
As with "freedom day" yesterday, I believe we are built more with a desire for relationship that retail spending. Relationships give us something lasting and more fulfiling. Retail therapy simply satsifies a temporary craving. This is why Paul is thankful for the Thessalonians' relationships. First, with God - that they are growing in their faith in Him. And second, in their love for one another. That's the vertical (faith in God) "up and down" dimension, and the horizontal (love one another) "side to side" dimension. To grow in the way we relate with God and one another satisfies our deepest needs and lasts much longer than a shopping spree.
This week as some of us find new freedoms restored, and others are required to wait patiently for a little longer, I hope and pray that we will embrace our restoration by grabbing hold of those vertical and horizontal relationships, with God and with one another. It will be very easy to focus on the need for a haircut rather than the more substantial things. By all means, lets get a haircut if we need one! But let's also consider our priorities.
To grow in our faith in God and in our love for one another - this is what has really challenged us these past 106 days. We are relational people who have a relational God. So relational in fact that he came to earth as a human to be with us, live with us and die for us.
As we await a full restoration of freedoms, remember we are awaiting a much bigger restoration of relationships that will only come if we have our relationship with our heavenly Father at the centre. May that be our prayer for one another.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank you for upholding me during these past months. Please especially be present with those who continue to struggle. Continue to strengthen us in our faith, and in our love for one another. Keep us focussed on the significant and eternal things that we might not be distracted by the temporary things of this world. Amen.