For now we are alive, if ye stand fast in the Lord.

 

Thursday, December 7, 2023


Psalm 90

Isaiah 41:17-29

1 Thessalonians 3


Observance: Ambrose of Milan, bishop and teacher (d. 397)


For now we are alive, if ye stand fast in the Lord.


One of the precious Biblical truths of God’s grace towards us is the fact that we are in a communion of saints. No man is an island, and no Christian is on their own. The burden of suffering we bear in this life is made easier not only from Jesus’ helping hand, but the knowledge that it is our badge of membership in the kingdom, a badge every saint of every age wears proudly on their chest.


Persecution helps strengthen our resolve. It proves we are a citizen of heaven, not of earth. And it trains our soul to follow our Lord’s command to bless those who curse us. For it is one thing to bless those who wish us well – do not even the pagans do this? True strength is shown when we are able to bless our enemies.


Paul’s heart aches for his beloved friends in Thessalonica. All the intellectual understanding of the coming persecution could not prepare them for when it happened. He is sweating with stress; he is losing sleep due to the terror of the possibility that the fledgling church has crumbled under the weight of persecution. The reason he cares for them so deeply is because Paul is no island. He is a member of the church universal, the body of Christ, and to lose the church in Thessalonica to the powers of darkness would be worse than losing a limb. The stress has left him not much better than dead.


But Timothy has brought back a good report. The church is thriving. The persecutions are being rejoiced in, and the body of Christ is growing firm muscle from the exercise. Once Paul was dead, and now he is alive, alive because his friends in the church are strong in the Lord.


Our fellow Christians are the most important people in our lives. We are to love our neighbours, yes, but our brothers and sisters in the Lord are part of our eternal family. The bond we have as individuals with our Lord Jesus is shared across those relationships in the church. Christ has given us new life, and our fellow Christians make us feel alive, if they stand fast in the Lord. And you are blessing your fellow Christians in this way, too.

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