For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? For you are our glory and joy.
This reminds me of the old song from the movie Urban Cowboy; ‘Looking For Love In All The Wrong Places.’ John Stott says that “In verses 19 and 20…Paul asks rhetorical…questions which expresses his great love…What Paul seems to mean is that his joy in this world and his glory in the next are tied up with the Thessalonians whom Christ…has so obviously transformed.”
I think Paul is reminding us that we often look for joy in the temporal circumstances of this broken world. We boast and find joy in the fish we catch, our conquests, masteries, our abilities. And while we may find some happiness in these things, these things shall surely fade away. Perhaps Our boast before the Lord should be, we are his! Perhaps we should find and give our love because Jesus first loved us! Perhaps we should live happy, joyful lives filled with love because of our transformation in Christ…
Grace and Peace!
No comments:
Post a Comment