Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
This is a beautiful passage because the writers are giving beautiful encouragement to a group of people that are seeking to live out the truth of the Gospel and the way of the Kingdom in their community. What's happening here is they are being affirmed and encouraged in their efforts to do so. It's being shown here that they are loving each other well in community, and the evidence of their faith in Jesus is flourishing or growing, and it's a beautiful sight to behold.
What This Means for Us Today
To be honest, I can't help but read this verse and think about what that means for our lives today as a community of faith following Jesus in the world. Can it be said about us, as Jesus people, that we are loving one another well and that our faith is flourishing?
Now, that first part, loving one another well, was a really big deal in a biblical context, because you'll see all throughout Scripture in the Old and New Testament, the effort and the adherence to and the accentuation of the importance of unity. I think about how in Psalms it talks about how beautiful it is where people dwell together in unity. It talks about in the book of Proverbs the danger of being someone who is a disrupter to unity in community. Unity is a really big deal. If you go to the New Testament, Jesus in John chapter 17 talks about His desire for His people on earth to be one as He and the Spirit and the Father are one. Unity matters.
Unity in Christ
This affirmation in Thessalonians of this group of people who are loving one another well, it's a picture that they are representing unity. Now, this unity doesn't come because of their natural sensibilities. We know as human people, it's hard to be unified with people who may think differently or live differently than you do in some of your preferences or even habits, but the thing that unified these people was their interest in the way of Jesus. He's saying to them, I love how you love one another. Jesus actually says in John 13, "People will know that you are My disciples by the way that you love one another," and this is being affirmed.
Flourishing Faith
The other part of this that I wanted to point out is that their faith is flourishing. What that means is the picture is sort of like a seed that's been planted, and that seed in the ground takes root and it starts to grow, and it produces something beautiful above the ground. I just want you to consider today, is this the description of your life when it comes to faith? Are you growing and flourishing, or does it feel like maybe your growth is stagnant?
Let's pray today for two things. One, that we can love one another well in community, that we will live the way of Jesus out amongst each other so that we can encourage unity and connectedness in Christ. But also, let's pray today that the roots go down deep, that our faith will be flourishing, and that the world will know that we love Jesus.
