We’re getting to the end of Paul’s greeting to the believers at Thessalonica. Have a read of 1 Thessalonians 1:6-10 – what strikes you about these verses?
It’s important to remember that this letter is one of the first letters we have of Paul, possibly one of the earliest documents in the New Testament. It was written maybe 20-30 years after Jesus died and rose again, and in the very early days of the church. The Christians were a small minority of the population, living a very different life from the people around who worshipped Roman gods and gave their loyalty ultimately to Caesar.
Despite this, the Christians were clearly not hiding away! Paul recalls that the believers in Thessalonica had been an example to Christians across the region (v.7), ‘the word of God sounded forth from them’ in many places (v.8), and they were known for turning from idols to serve a living and true God (v.9).
Unfortunately, many times today Christians seem to be known for much less positive things. But ‘on the ground’ churches are also often known for doing good things. Like us at CCC they run excellent toddler groups, language classes, and other ways to connect their communities.
Right at this early stage of Paul’s writing, he emphasises something which will run through everything he writes later – the true and living God raised Jesus, the Son of God, from the dead (v.10). This vital truth is at the heart of everything Paul believes – he has met Jesus on the road to Damascus and is determined that everyone should know that Jesus is alive!
Let’s pray that we too will be known as people who follow the risen Jesus, who have turned from idols to serve the true and living God, and who share the loving and true Word of God in our speech and actions.