Holy living
Paul follows on his prayer for the Thessalonians (chapter 3) with some instructions for holy living. If you've ever had a parent or teacher who made you feel like you could never be good enough, then hearing that God has also set standards for us may feel like a burden to bear. This isn't at all what Paul is getting at here, he says:
'For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.' 1 Thessalonians 4:7 [NIV]
This isn't about following a set of rules but is more about a God who longs for us to reflect him, he made us in his image and he wants us to reflect that to those around us. When this happens, God is delighted like a loving parent would be.
Remember that the community in Thessalonica is one of the first Christian communities, they were completely new and alien to those around them. Observers had seen this man, Paul, come along and behave so differently to the other travelling preachers and teachers of the day, and out of that grew this loving community. Outsiders might have known that the community believed Jesus was the Lord of the world and his resurrection brought eternal life, so undoubtedly they would have been intrigued to see if those beliefs had any impact on the way the Christians behaved. What did they see? A community of practical love, caring for one another financially and extending that love to the other churches in Macedonia. Amazing!
Think about your Christian community. What do outsiders observe as they watch you live your life?
Emma Higgins | |
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