Rev. Monterey D. Lee, Sr.
Paul starts his pleasing letter to the Christians in Thessalonica with some good teaching about the family. We the church of God can learn so much from this letter Paul wrote nearly 2,000 years ago to a group of believers who were relatively new in the faith. As believers in Jesus Christ, we are to show the world what it means to have a model faith—a faith worth talking about. We should display work that is produced by faith, labor prompted by love, endurance inspired by hope and victory in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul describes in this letter five characteristics of a good family. Good family people
- Have courage
- Are driven by purpose
- Walk with integrity
- Care for others, and
- Display a life that is right with God.
In 1 Thessalonians 5:12, Paul talks about leadership among the family. He says to know them “which labor among you and are over you in the Lord.”
Family, we must always have a common love for each other in the Lord. This is what the family of God is made of.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life,” John 3:16.
In 1 Thessalonians 2:11, 12, the objective, the target, and the goal is parenting. Raise your children to live lives worthy of God as he has and is doing for us today. We encourage our children with our presence, our touch, and God’s word.
Parenting or child rearing is the process of promoting and supporting the physical, emotional, social, intellectual, and spiritual development of a child from infancy to adulthood. This is the exact thing God does for us.
God challenges us by his word and the example. Paul was challenging the believers to go to the deep ends of the waters and to leave the waters of shallow Christianity behind.
In 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18, Paul reminds us of the second coming of Jesus Christ. As believers we are to prepare for his glorious coming. The best is yet to come.
Paul was proud of these new Christians. In 1 Thessalonians 2:19, he calls them his glory and joy. These Christians were working hard at pleasing God, family, and the church. They know that family matters. As the church, we must work hard in our daily walk and be on the right track and know that family matters.
