1 Thessalonians 2:8-16: Love Is The Portal

Love is the portal that truth walks through.

In his insightful article "Effective Evangelism and the Art of the Turn" by Geoff Surratt, he analyzes the way in which we go to people and pitch our ideas, expressing interest in people in order to create an opening for some product or proposal. That is the "turn". How about the gospel? He notes: "I imagine when people see through a thinly veiled Gospel sales pitch they feel as frustrated as I do when I’m turned." Why? Because they feel that the details and concerns of their lives are unimportant to us, apart from how they respond to the "truth" we want to deliver.

Paul stresses authentic love as the bedrock of his relationship with the believers in Thessalonica. He draws on the language of families to emphasize the strength and warmth. They are his "brothers and sisters" (vs. 1) Then Paul and Silas are like children (vs. 8a). Now Paul switches to another relationship: mothers and their children.

Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well. Surely you remember, brothers and sisters, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you. 

There was no separation between sharing of lives and sharing of the gospel. They were the same love--the same delight. Nursing mothers do not begrudge the nourishment they give. For her, sleep is optional. For her, even eating is optional. But love is not optional (cf. Romans 13:8).

But Paul does not stop there. He continues with fathers and their children.

You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.

Whereas the mothers nurture, the fathers motivate. They motivate by example ("how...we were among you") and by guiding them in the way they should live, when they are unsure ("encouraging"), when they are hurt ("comforting") and when they need a kick in the pants ("urging").

These relational terms stress the love aspect of any truth telling. We don't stop loving our actual children or siblings when they don't respond to the gospel. We love them. We help fix tires, bind up wounds, comfort broken hearts, and invite them to dinner whether or not they continually do dumb things with their lives. Oh, they'll hear about it. But our love isn't tied to them obeying us. God's wasn't, for us (cf. Titus 3:3-4).

So don't tell people that Jesus loves them unless you're ready to love them too (Steve Camp). If we try to tell people the truth without the love, you leave that truth on barren soil, unlikely to sprout and thrive. But in the context of love, the truth has ample nutrition to become "rooted and established" (cf. Ephesians 3:17-18).

Look at what happened with Paul, according to the next verse:

And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe. 

With love, the word of God was welcomed. Not just in a "Hi, how are you doing" sort of way, but in a life transforming, pattern-of-life altering manner. In a way, it is the life that we have always wanted, to be a part of those big stories where the good guys undergo fights, deprivation and all sorts of troubles but emerge better, victorious people. It is also the life that terrifies us, because it involves the trouble, hostility, alienation, discomfort and possibly worse. Paul talks about it like this:

For you, brothers and sisters, became imitators of God’s churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus: You suffered from your own people the same things those churches suffered from the Jews who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and also drove us out. They displease God and are hostile to everyone in their effort to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. In this way they always heap up their sins to the limit. The wrath of God has come upon them at last.

How do we decide to make the right choices, even when they are difficult? We can do it because there are those who have "parented" us properly, nurturing and motivating us. We can do it because there are those who have showed us, by their example, the way to handle it. We help others by doing the same for them.

It starts with authentic love. Nurturing. Motivating. That love is the portal that truth walks through (cf. Revelation 3:20)

1 Thessalonians 2:1-7: Why Should I Believe You?

We are a suspicious people. To test the message, we scourge the messenger and see if he or she bleeds conflict of interest. Skepticism has become the public religion of choice, where the world is an advertisement and enlightenment is seeing through the pretense. "Life is pain, highness." says the movie The Princess Bride, "Anyone who says differently is selling something." So we resign ourselves to a wry grin of gentle cynicism--doubting and still wondering, "Is that all there is?" We hope not.

Paul notes that, when he arrived in Thessalonica, that his good news came "not only with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction." But that was not enough. They heard the truth, they had an intense encounter with God and they were profoundly challenged to reconsider the direction of their lives. Then, the next morning they work up, and they still thought it was good idea to plunge into this Jesus-life after Paul and Silas.

Why? Love. They had seen authentic love first hand.

You know, brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not without results. We had previously suffered and been treated outrageously in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in the face of strong opposition. 

They knew what happened. They knew how Paul and Silas acted. Paul does not appeal to an abstract idea of love, he points to love in action and asks them to judge for themselves: was it real?

What was the first clue that Paul and Silas really cared about them? Trouble followed Paul and Silas but that didn't stop them. It would have been easy for them to simply stay silent and go on their way. But their love compelled them to speak because the message was so important.

So, cynic, what else would it take to convince you? Paul continues:

For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts. You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed—God is our witness.

Here we find another clue about the nature of authentic love: it has no hidden agenda. Everything that Paul wanted to tell them about Jesus' life, sacrifice on their behalf, return to life, and about the new kingdom life, it was all on the table. The people could clearly see that Paul and Silas weren't following Jesus in order to get a free pass to an easy life. There was no money or prestige involved in giving the gospel.

There is another, related clue about authentic love here also: Paul notes that "nor are we trying to trick you" and "we never used flattery." There was no manipulation. Yes, they spoke about the about Jesus with passion, but they didn't try to arm-twist people into the kingdom of God.

Finally, there is one more clue:

We were not looking for praise from people, not from you or anyone else, even though as apostles of Christ we could have asserted our authority. Instead, we were like young children among you.

Now the cynic in us would say that Paul and Silas didn't really care about the people of Thessalonica, they only wanted people to say how smart or spiritual they were. Or maybe that, by converting the people there, they were just adding another notch in their gospel gun. Or maybe they were looking to expand their influence in the area.

Instead Paul uses another family image: that of children. Up to this point, he has characterized their relationship as "brothers and sisters". Later, he will use the image of "father" and "mother". But here, he talked about children. In this context, he contrasts what they could have done ("asserted our authority") with what they did ("were like young children among you"). Authentic love is not pushy. Instead, they were humble (see also, v. 17 where they are "orphans").

There is no substitute for authenticity. We can try to manufacture it, but live in a society will strip away any veneer and turn away in disappointment. Do you love the people you live among? Or, are they useful? "They will know we are Christians by our _______." Distance? Hypocrisy? Pushiness? Or by the same authentic love that Jesus shows for us. 

1 Thessalonians 1:4-10: The Echo More Profound

Charles Colton once wrote that "Imitation is the sincerest [form] of flattery." Some might argue that it shows a lack of creativity--a sort of mental laziness. Our culture sometimes praises variety for variety's sake. But there is a beauty when you follow the well-worn path because your path lies further onward still.

Paul, in his hasty letter to those believers that he recently left in Thessalonica, commended them for their faith, their love and their hope (1:1-3). But how does that work out? What was it that impressed Paul? He writes:

For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake.

You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. - 1 Thessalonians 1:4-7

First, they recognized the supernatural origins of their changed life. They heard God's words, they witnessed God's power, they experienced God's presence through the Holy Spirit and they
 saw these as God's proof.

Second, they saw the supernatural differences in Paul and Silas's lifestyle, which was self-less ("for your sake") and fear-less ("in the midst of severe suffering", see Acts 17:5). Their message was reinforced by the way they lived their life.

So they took the plunge, into severe suffering and, paradoxically, into severe joy. In this they did not hesitate to follow the example of Jesus and then Paul and then the churches in Judea (see 2:14). Then, that fearless following encouraged others who heard to make that same difficult, life-altering and ultimately fulfilling decision to follow Jesus.

Boldness sparks boldness. Fear breeds fear. There is an exhilaration that follows taking the wild first step of faith. There is pain that comes as the world attempts to reclaim us or nullify us, but there is a supernatural joy poured out by the Holy Spirit when we follow in God's path.

The impact of these bold believers didn't stop there. Paul continues:

The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us.

They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath. - 1 Thessalonians 1:8-10

God broadcasts his message by word-of-mouth. Sort of holy gossip. No ad-campaign can replace reports of people on fire for God. There were two things that encouraged this good report to "ring out": their whole-hearted reorientation towards God and their amazing hope in the Jesus who restores their relationship with God.

There is an echo more profound than the original voice.  This challenges me. This isn't just meeting God in church on Sunday. This is about following God into work in the remaining 24/6 of my life. God takes that and the life of Jesus--as lived through me--is advertised in the best way possible--through the fearless and joyful life. It is not about rushing recklessly toward persecution--that will find us on its own--it is about rushing headlong towards Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 1:1-3: The Motives of Movement

What makes you move? Or, more accurately, what makes you stay? Every action generates a reaction, but inaction generates tension. The Switchfoot song Dare You to Move puts it like this: 

Welcome to the fallout. 

Welcome to resistance. 

The tension is here, tension is here, between who you are and who you could be--

Between how it is and how it should be.

What makes you decide? Paul, one of the early Christian leaders, wrote to a group of new believers making brave decisions and bold moves. This group--a new church--responded enthusiastically to Paul's introduction to Jesus the Messiah. But soon afterwards, other citizens and city officials turned hostile towards them, arrested their host and forced Paul to leave secretly (Acts 17). Worried about their situation, Paul penned a short letter to encourage them, and us.

Paul, Silas and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace to you. 

We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. - 1 Thessalonians 1:1-3

Faith vs. Fear. The first motive for movement is faith. Each of us is intimately aware of our own deficiencies. We try to hide them. We try to divert attention from them. We try to overcome them. Why? So that, under the scrutiny of family, friends, colleagues, or even God, we will appear without flaw. That is the fear motive. Fear is a powerful motive, but ultimately it is destructive, because it isolates us from others and from God. But Paul encourages us to act out of faith-a bedrock trust in God's love for us. Fear says that my relationship is always in danger. Faith says that my relationship is secure. So I move forward without constantly looking over my shoulder. 

Love vs. Self. The second motive for movement is love. Our built-in survival instinct evaluates evaluates the world based on how it impacts us. When my company was considering layoffs, what's my concern? How it affects me. When I'm in an argument, what am I worried about? How I was hurt. That is the self motive. Self is a powerful motive, but ultimately it is deceptive, because it tries to re-orient the universe so that it revolves around us when it does not. Paul encourages us to act out of love-a focus on the best interests of others. Self says that it is about me. Love says that it is about God and other people.

Hope vs. Disappointment. The third motive for movement is hope. Our biggest decisions are the riskiest ones. Commitments set you up for disappointment, whether in marriage, education, a career path, or your trust in Jesus or in yourself. The bigger the commitment, the bigger the potential letdown. The church in Thessalonica had put a big bet on Jesus, risking their relationships, their standing in society, their jobs and their safety. Hope required a daily decision, in the face of opposing voices, to focus on Jesus' priorities for their lives. Disappointment says: hedge your bets, just in case. Hope says: let it ride on Jesus.

Paul shows us the motives for movement. But what about our destination. If we move aimlessly and we are lost. If we don't move at all and we are dead. God offers us a direction for our lives, which we will look at more as we plunge forward into the next parts of chapter 1.