Reading scriptures –
1 Thessalonians 3:6-10
Timothy has it. . . Brought good news about your faith and love.
— 1 Thessalonians 3:6
Paul was very happy! He sent his disciple Timothy back to the city of Thessalonica to investigate the church he had recently established there. And Timothy returned with surprising news!
First, the background: Paul had spent only a short time establishing a community of Christ-followers in Thessalonica before he was chased away by an angry mob that opposed the gospel. Paul knew that in his absence the new Christians faced deep challenges, living in a culture that was deeply hostile to Christianity. He would not have been surprised if everyone had gone back to their former ways of life in Judaism or the Greek tradition.
But Timothy returned with a report that the new Christians in Thessalonica were standing firm despite the challenges. They remained full of faith in Jesus. They were also looking forward to seeing Paul again!
This does not happen spontaneously. The God who raised Jesus from the dead also raised these people in Him, and He kept them there. You could say that each steadfast, new Christian was an ongoing resurrection story, a new creation, evidence that God was about to do something bigger: a renewal of all creation.
If anyone is in Christ, as Paul says in 2 Corinthians, there is a new creation. The old one is gone. The new one has arrived!
Lord, all of us who are new creations in Christ rejoice in the power of your resurrection working in us. Thank you! The old is going and the new is coming. Help us to see and rejoice. Amen.
Author: Dave Den Haan
