Paul the
apostle and his companions care deeply for the Thessalonians, and the
“hope, joy and crown of rejoicing” was for the
Thessalonian church member to be “n the presence of our Lord
Jesus Christ at his coming”. In chapter two and verse twenty of
his letter to the Thessalonians, Paul continued his passionate
description of what they meant to him as he tells them they are their
“glory and joy” where we read:
For you
are our glory and joy.
Paul
began this verse with the words, “For” which means
“because, even, indeed and no doubt” “you are our glory”
which refers to the Thessalonians and means “splendor,
brightness, magnificence, excellence, preeminence, dignity grace,
majesty and good opinion resulting in praise and honor” “and
joy” or “gladness, calm delight and cheerfulness”. When
Paul thought about the Thessalonian church members, he considered
them in excellence, gladness, cheerfulness and delight.
As
we meditate upon Paul's words, we should be inspired by his
admiration of this group of people. The Thessalonians were like a
grand prize for Paul and his men, and just the thought of them
brought praise and honor to them. We might wonder why they had such
an impact upon him, and discover those who are followers of Jesus
Christ because of our inspiration become “our glory and joy”.
There are few delights in life that compare to when the Lord Jesus
has allowed us to be instrumental in others' lives pertaining to
their relationship with Him. May Paul's description of the
Thessalonians not only invigorate us to lead others to Jesus, but
also give us a comparable admiration he had for those he influenced.
Next
time we begin a new chapter and watch Paul writes about staying “in
Athens alone”, so read ahead,
and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com
; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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