At Athens Alone 1 Thessalonians 3:1

Although “Satan hindered” Paul and his companions from visiting the church members in Thessalonica, he still considered them his “hope, joy, crown of rejoicing, glory and joy”, and as we begin chapter three of his letter to the Thessalonians, Paul shared about being “at Athens alone” where we read:

Wherefore when we could no longer forbear, we thought it good to be left at Athens alone;

The verse begins, “Wherefore when we could no longer forbear,...” Paul began with the word, “Wherefore” which is a conclusion word that means “on account of, through which thing, consequently and for which cause” “when we could no longer forbear” which is “stegō mēketi stegō” and means “they could no longer hold out against, endure, or contain themselves”. Because Paul and his companions valued the Thessalonians so much, they could no longer contain themselves for visiting them in some manner. Oh to God that we have such compassion toward others.

The verse goes on to say, “...we thought it good to be left at Athens alone;” Paul continued with “we thought it good” which means “it seemed of good pleasure, willingly and favorably inclined towards” “to be left” or “abandoned, left behind and to leave remaining” “at Athens” which means “uncertainty and was a famous city in Greece, the capital of Attica, and the chief seat of learning and civilization during the golden period of the history of Greece” “alone” which means “forsaken, destitute of help, only and merely”. Rather than sending no one to visit, Paul and his companions decided to leave Paul in Rome and send one of them to see the Thessalonian church members.

While we meditate upon this verse, the most striking aspect is Paul's deep level of care for the Thessalonian church members. No wonder his assessment of them was so profound, and his desire to see them was so great. Though he himself desired to visit, he sacrificed his opportunity to allow someone else to go. This depth of love for others can only be instilled by our Lord Jesus, and when we think about how passionately Paul was driven against Christians in the past, we marvel at his drive toward them now. Perhaps our prayer should be for the Lord Jesus to put within us a love and concern for others as He did Paul, and when that love is installed, may we be able to express ourselves towards those whom He places in our paths even if we have to sacrifice being “alone” to do so.

Next time Paul writes about how he sent Timothy to the Thessalonians, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

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