Friday 14th February
Read 1 Thessalonians 2:10-12
“You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. 11 For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, 12 encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.” (NIVUK)
Imagine being able to say that you were holy, righteous and blameless. Imagine saying it to people who saw how you lived. Imagine saying it before God. Maybe that is why commentators agree it was a short visit to Thessalonica? No one who was living with people for any longer than that could possibly make such a statement!
More than that however, Paul argues that he and his fellow missionaries, did not merely preach the gospel from afar, manning a pulpit and exhorting those who believed in Jesus to live worthy lives, but he argues that they spoke to each one of them. They spent time with them individually, explaining what it meant to live lives worthy of the continuing call of God. It was not abstract, theoretically, ‘holy advice’ being dispensed – it was encouraging and comforting, given to each person in their context. It was personal.
Paul presents a model of discipleship that is fully engaged with the minutiae of people’s lives. Discipleship that is encouraging and comforting and challenging all at once.
