Paul the
apostle desired to see the church members in Thessalonica. He wanted
to “establish” and “comfort” them concerning
their faith, so he sent Timothy to them who was his “beloved son
in the faith” lest they be stumbled by the afflictions and
suffering Paul and his companions endured for sharing the gospel. In
chapter three and verse six, Paul tells the Thessalonians how Timothy
reported to him “good tidings” of their “faith and
charity” where we read:
But
now when Timotheus came from you unto us, and brought us good tidings
of your faith and charity, and that you have good remembrance of us
always, desiring greatly to see us, as we also to
see you:
The verse begins, “But
now when Timotheus came from you unto us, and brought us good tidings
of your faith and charity,...” Paul
began with the words, “But now”
which means “moreover and indeed at this moment”
“when Timotheus”
or “Timothy” whose name means “honoring God” and was “a
resident of Lystra, apparently, whose father was a Greek and mother a
Jewess; he was Paul's traveling companion and fellow laborer”
“came from you unto us”
or “arose and returned from the Thessalonians to Paul and his
traveling companions” “and brought
us good tidings”
which is the Greek phrase “euaggelizō
hēmin euaggelizō”and
means“good news, announcements and tidings” “of
your faith”
which refers to “the conviction of the truth of anything
particularly the conviction that God exists and is the creator and
ruler of all things, the provider and bestower of eternal salvation
through Christ” “and charity”
which is the
Greek word “agapē”
and means “affection, good will, benevolence, brotherly and
unconditional love”. Timothy reported well concerning the “faith
and charity”
of the church members in Thessalonica.
The verse goes on to say, “and
that you have good remembrance of us always, desiring greatly to see
us, as we also to see
you:” Paul went on to add, “and
that you” which refers to the Thessalonians
“have good remembrance”
or “pleasant, agreeable, joyful, happy, excellent, distinguished,
upright and honorable memory and recall” “of
us always” which means “of Paul and his
companions at all times and ever” “desiring
greatly to see us” or “longing for,
pursuing and intensely craving to see Paul and his men” “as
we also to see you” which refers to Paul
and his companions passionately wanting to see the Thessalonian
church members as well. We can almost see the pleasure in Paul's
words with the report of the Thessalonians desire to visit with him
and his men.
When
we meditate upon Paul's words, we may ask ourselves, “Who in this
world do we so greatly desire to see for whom we would demonstrate
this kind of passion?” It is marvelous to observe this love and
desire that leaders and church members have for one another. Paul
initiated the church in Thessalonica, and although his visit with
them was for a short time, they shared a deep and closely knit union
together. Perhaps our prayer should be that others would have this
same report of our “faith and charity” should someone
examine us, and may the Lord Jesus put within us His “agape”
unconditional love that we may live according to this example.
Next
time Paul tells the Thessalonians how he was comforted over them, 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.
No comments:
Post a Comment