By
Jim Howe
When we lived in the former ways of our
heart, our only inclination was for ourselves.
We lived according to the flesh. Whether we lived as decent people being
nice, neighborly, and keeping our nose clean or we lived a wild rebellious life, it was lived for the person we
crowned Lord: ourselves. The gospel brings salvation, not by making us “a
better me,” but by raising the dead to life.
In the Bible “flesh” is not a physical life in our body so much as a
life focused upon our self. Jesus who is rich in mercy came to raise us from
the dead. What does it mean to live in Christ, to love God and others?
Paul is a picture of a man who had his
heart changed. He was like his Lord and
Savior because he lived for others. If
we are honest with ourselves, we know that the core of our sin problem is
rooted in this orientation toward “self”.
In these times of fires, pandemic, and political tension it is easy to
become self-protective, self-gratifying, and self-absorbed. We are all more
isolated than we have ever been. But the gospel offers another way to live life
in Christ.
As Paul cared for people, he did so
with a new heart. Paul began his
ministry in Thessalonica with great success.
Many came to faith in Jesus Christ, but a mob also arose that forced him to
leave the newly planted church that met in homes in the city. He was painted by
his enemies as being a wild revolutionary who defied the decrees of the Roman emperor. He went through Berea and then on to Athens
where he anticipated news about the newly found church (Acts 17:1-16). Read the text for this week carefully and pay
attention to the way Paul displays the heart of Christ for the people:
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Thessalonians 2:17–3:5 (ESV) 7 But since we were torn away from you,
brothers, for a short time, in person not in heart, we endeavored the more
eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face, 18 because we
wanted to come to you—I, Paul, again and again—but Satan hindered us. 19
For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his
coming? Is it not you? 20 For you are our glory and joy. 1
Therefore when we could bear it no longer, we were willing to be left behind at
Athens alone, 2 and we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s coworker
in the gospel of Christ, to establish and exhort you in your faith, 3
that no one be moved by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are
destined for this. 4 For when we were with you, we kept telling you
beforehand that we were to suffer affliction, just as it has come to pass, and
just as you know. 5 For this reason, when I could bear it no longer,
I sent to learn about your faith, for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted
you and our labor would be in vain.
Even though he was separated in person, he was with them in heart. This is
not mere sentimentality; it was the
driving force of his pastoral care for the people in Thessalonica. He was not focused upon himself. He easily could have been concerned about his reputation, his
comfort, and the fact that he was left alone.
If he had not been confronted by Jesus Christ, that is what he would have done.
We all face the temptation to be inner
focused, but if you know Jesus
Christ, then there is a new
affection at work in you. It may be discovered in a desire to show compassion
to a neighbor, a family member, or friends at church. Paul shows us that this longing in his heart
drove him to want to be with the believers in Thessalonica. “Again, and again,”
he made plans to be in face to face contact.
There is something else that displays
the transformation of Paul’s heart and that is a surrender to God’s providence.
He understood Satan was at work attempting to harm God’s mission in the world (2:18).
And he sacrificed his own fellowship with Timothy for the sake of caring for
the people of God. He sent him to further “establish and exhort” (3:2) them. It would have been easy for him to feel sorry
for himself as a victim of Satan’s ploy.
Instead, behind the events of
his life, he saw by faith the
providence of God and surrendered to God’s bigger purpose. Read again how he responded:
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Thessalonians 3:3–4 (ESV) 3 that no one be moved by these
afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are destined for this. 4
For when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to
suffer affliction, just as it has come to pass, and just as you know.
This is a total rejection of what
today is called the health and wealth gospel.
Here in the north state Bethel and some other neo-pentecostals simply
assume that faith that is genuine will lead believers around such
suffering. Bill Johnson denies that
Paul’s thorn in the flesh ( 2 Corinthians 12:6-7) is
physical suffering when he suggests that it was associated with the attacks
upon him from antagonists. Paul, however, sees beneath the attacks of false
teachers, Satan’s assaults to God’s sovereign determination. The word
translated “destined” in the ESV is the Greek word keimai. It means to
set or place, or figuratively it can
refer to being “appointed, set or destined for something.”[1]
Paul longed with all his heart to be
with the congregation, but even more
deeply he longed to be in submission to the sovereign will of God. God was in
control as He always is. We are brought to our knees by the circumstances of
life and face the same opportunity to see God at work. Our attitude to the facts of life reflects
our deepest faith in the work of our sovereign Lord. Christians will suffer both
physically and emotionally from the attack of the Evil One. We are not
immune. But our Father is guiding us,
sustaining us, and caring for us as he did Paul and the congregation in
Thessalonica. When we turn our eyes off of the turmoil around us and focus on
the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we
are given the hope that Paul had that his work was not “in vain”.
So, the big take away from this text
is that our hearts are in God’s hands. What an encouraging reminder as
we struggle to continue ministry in these socially distancing times. Behind the
rioters, the governor mandates, and the fires there is a Father who is merciful. He is totally committed to our progress in
the faith. Our tendency to wonder where
God is in all this is self-defeating.
Faith that is rooted in the promises of the God who is in control gives
us comfort and assurance in the face of all that is going on around us.
Dane Ortlund relays the story of the
Scottish hymn writer and Old Testament scholar George Matheson:
O Love that
will not let me goI rest my weary soul in thee
I give thee back the life I owe
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be
O Light that foll’west all my way
I yield my flick’ring torch to thee
My heart restores its borrowed ray
That in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be
Stabilizing lines, especially for those in darkness.
Do you know the story behind it?
At age 20 George Matheson (1842-1906) was engaged to be married but began going blind. When he broke the news to his fiancée, she decided she could not go through life with a blind husband. She left him. Before losing his sight, he had written two books of theology and some feel that if he had retained his sight he could have been the greatest leader of the Church of Scotland in his day.
A special providence was that George’s sister offered to care for him. With her help, George left the world of academia for pastoral ministry and wound up preaching to 1500 each week–blind.
The day came, however, in 1882, when his sister fell in love and prepared for marriage herself. The evening before the wedding, George’s whole family had left to get ready for the next day’s celebration. He was alone and facing the prospect of living the rest of his life without the one person who had come through for him. On top of this, he was doubtless reflecting on his own aborted wedding day twenty years earlier. It is not hard to imagine the fresh waves of grief washing over him that night.
In the darkness of that moment George Matheson wrote this hymn. He remarked afterward that it took him five minutes and that it was the only hymn he ever wrote that required no editing.
O love that will not let me go. Heartening hope for you and me.
Here’s the last stanza.
O Cross that liftest up my head
I dare not ask to fly from thee
I lay in dust life’s glory dead
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be[2]
Father, we praise you that your hands
hold us each day. Truly, your love will
not let us go. Remind us in the midst of life of your loving providence. Grant us faith to trust you even in these
times. Renew our hearts that so that we
might love you more and love our neighbors as ourselves. In Christ’s name,
Amen.
