2 Thessalonians 2:13-17 - But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast
to the teachings[c] we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.
May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who
loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in
every good deed and word.
In this second part of Paul’s
second letter to Thessalonica, the Apostle circles back to a concern in the
first letter – the Second Coming of Christ.
He assures this church that they have not missed the Second Coming. There are specific things that need to happen
before Christ returns and they haven’t happened yet. I want to note that Paul’s list of things
that need to happen is somewhat lost on us two thousand years later. Paul had some very specific things in mind
that he was looking to happen before Christ would return. It is nearly impossible for us to take what
Paul says in 2:1-12 and try and match it up to today’s events in an effort to
predict Jesus’s coming. That was not
Paul’s intention in first century Greece and so certainly, it is not an
appropriate use of this text two thousand years. What we can take from 2:1-12 is the same thing
Paul intended the Thessalonians to take for these words long ago; we have not missed Jesus’s return. That glorious event is still ahead of us.
The other encouragement that we can
take from 2 Thessalonians 2 is from the passage quoted above. The fact that we have been trusted with the
exciting knowledge of Christ’s Gospel and with the knowledge that Jesus will
return is a privilege that we should never take for granted. We are what Paul says are “firstfruits.” Broadly speaking, “firstfruits” are what
“prime the pump” for the work that is come after. Firstfruits in Hebrew tradition were an
offering that provided for the sustenance of Priests and the Temple. In the early church, this practice morphed
into the practice of the tithe, giving the first 10% of all income to provide
for the work of the church. Two thousand
years later, this practice still persists;
the church is resourced primarily through the giving of Christian
community members.
So what would it mean to say that “God
chose [us] as firstfruits?” It means
that we who have chosen to follow Christ were first chosen by God to be the
“resources” through which God’s work is done in the community. It’s actually not much of a stretch to say
that God has chosen us to be reinvested in his work so that the work is
glorified through the very people God has chosen. We are God’s “tithe” to multiply and provide
for the work of the Kingdom. I invite
you to spend a few moments to think about yourself in this way.
Questions: How might
my life be God’s way of providing for others?
Are there specific people or causes that I am feeling pulled toward
right now? Will I say “yes” to being
used by God in these ways?
Prayer: God, thank
you for choosing us to become your sons and daughters. Thank you for making us stewards of your
message and outreach to others. Lead us to be faithful with all that you have
entrusted with us.
Prayer Focus: Pray
for the victims and Louisiana community where yet another mass shooting has taken
place.
Song: Live Like That
– Sidewalk Prophets
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