‘Living As GOD’s People While We Watch and Wait for Jesus’ Return

People today communicate on “social media” in brief words or sentences. Perhaps that is why there is so much miscommunication. How do you share your heart and what is really on your mind in a “tweet”? Then you have those who are called “social influencers,” who spew their warped views of life for all to see and hear, having no foundation for what they are saying and having no filter for what they are promoting. The letters of the apostles to the churches following the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus were the work of the Spirit within them, so that what they wrote was the “God-breathed” truth for all who would believe in Jesus Christ. In reading these letters we who believe today hear God’s voice speaking to us, giving us instructions on what to believe and how to live for Christ. So here, at the end of Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians, we hear what was on Paul’s heart and what God knew was important for them … and us … to hear. As important as the first part of a letter is, the end of a letter often contained “parting words” that the writer felt the reader needed to consider. At the end of his first letter to these believers, Paul had urged them to “admonish the idle.” Now here at the end of his second letter to these same believers, Paul returns to the same subject, tying it to the importance of living to do good and not simply to live for yourself. Why? Primarily out of a desire to be obedient to God, but also because working and doing good produces peace of heart and mind as your focus is on pleasing God rather than pleasing yourself. Many today in our country have a very unrealistic view of life and what it should be and what they should “get out of it.” The only “cure” for such a distorted view of life is the truth of God’s Word. It is in working hard and doing good that you will find the peace you are looking for! “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all!”