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

Millions of people are searching for “something” to make their lives more satisfying, more meaningful.  Many search for it in a career or in a relationship. Some look for “it” in money and possessions and activities of various kinds. Still others find joy in serving others, in doing things for other people because it makes them “feel good.” But all of these have their limits. There are times in all of our lives when nothing seems to satisfy our souls and we feel somehow unable to discover the “secret of happiness!” GOD has the answer:  the Church!! Though it seems foolish to most to imagine that being part of Christ’s Body can provide something the world knows nothing about, for those who are part of the Body of Christ through the work of the Spirit of God within them, it is in being an active part of a congregation of God’s people that the possibility for spiritual satisfaction is found. The “good life” that many are searching for in the things of the world can truly be found only in living with other believers in a congregation of God’s people. That’s what God says!! Yet in our fallen, imperfect world, and in our “me-centered” culture, many have searched for such life in a congregation, or in various congregations, and have found only more sadness, loneliness and frustration. As he closes his first letter to the Thessalonians, God led Paul to give them several tips about how to build a congregation that would produce what God intended, for all the believers and for each believer. Since God’s will is their “sanctification” (4:3), their spiritual growth and maturity, Paul makes it clear that it is their life together as the Body of Christ that will produce “the good life” that God desires them to live as they await Jesus’ return. Whether then or now, God’s will for His children is to live together in such as way that each one becomes more like Jesus, for our good and for His glory! To that end let us labor together until He comes!!