Comfort!

Comfort!

I Thessalonians 5:11 NKJV

[11] Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.

Paul, Silas and Timothy are credited with the words of this letter written to the church in Thessalonica. It is also interesting to note the words in the introduction to this first letter, where the writers pointed to the work of faith, the labor of love, and patience of hope in the Lord Jesus Christ that this chuch had, and which these men could bear withess to. At the time of this letter, the Christian experience was not as widespread as it is now, but men staked their lives on the tenets of the faith as they had been taught, and they would go on to endure pain, pressure and persecution for the sake of the faith that they had received. As we consider the lives of these people, what sort of encouragement can we derive from their lives? What lessons can we learn from them, and how do we provide guidance, leadership and eternity-focused plans for our present generation? 

There are some life lessons that are best passed down by personal experience. At no time did Paul, Silas or Timothy go on to present a false narrative of what to expect. These men said it as it should be, using their lives as personal examples of encouragement and perseverance in the face of challenges. Do I have my own stories or accounts of God's dealings in faithfulness and mercy? Do I have any account that can encourage another to hold on to hope of a better tomorrow, even when nothing seems to work? It is instructive to also note that some of the issues that may have been worrying this church was what comes after death. This church must have experienced persecution, and some must have died, which was why this letter touched on issues of life after death, clearly noting that physical death is just the translation into the eternal life that God has promised and prepared for all who will trust Him to the end. 

It is this forward-looking hope that is the focus of the verse above. When I know how it ends, where it ends, and why I have to go through all that comes, temporary discomfort becomes bearable. I know quite clearly that one day, the Lord will return for His own, and execute judgment on the earth and reward for His saints. As part of His church, am I making this the focus and foundation of my service to Him? Am I nurturing that relationship, sure and confident that it is not in vain? Like it has been said earlier, you cannot give what you do not have. How can I provide comfort on a matter on which I am not personally and permanently convinced? This church had made it a habit to encourage one another, as they shared a common hope in the eternal life on offer by God. Let this be a guard for my own heart too, that the same God who kept this church is able to keep me in His will to the end. I take comfort from His nature that cannot lie, comforted by His consistency and Truth. What of you? God's time of favour is here.