“May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.”
(2 Thessalonians 3:5, RSV)
(2 Thessalonians 3:5, RSV)
In December of 1964, a song climbed to the top of the music charts. It stayed at or near the top for months. In 2001, this song was listed in the top ten most important songs of the whole 20th century. What was that song? “You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feeling” by the Righteous Brothers. The song was about two people who used to be so very much in love with each other. Then, something happened, and their love drifted away. The theme of the song is that a love that used to be so life-giving and wonderful shouldn’t become empty and lost.
In the book of Revelation, John of Patmos wrote about the love of God that was waning and dying in some of the churches. To the church in Ephesus, John wrote that God was deeply grieved because the church had “abandoned the love they had at first” (Revelation 2:4). God called for the whole church to repent and go back to the loving “works that they used to do” (Revelation 2:5).
Love is a characteristic of God (1 John 4:7-8). If a person lacks love for others, 1 John 4 says that person cannot love God. Jesus acknowledged this same thing years before when he said that all the commandments and laws of God can be boiled down to “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27). Agape love is not a suggested thing for a Christian. It is a requirement, a basic necessity, a sign of God’s presence!
In the scriptural letter for today from 2 Thessalonians, Paul tells the church that the Lord needs to “direct their hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ” (2 Thessalonians 3:5). You might wonder why Paul is asking them to be steadfast in faith and hold on to the love of God. There is a big reason. Persecution. 2 Thessalonians 1:5 mentions that the church had been suffering for their faith in Jesus. 2 Thessalonians 1:6 mentions that some of the followers faced terrible afflictions. In 2 Thessalonians 3:2, Paul hoped that the church may be “delivered from wicked and evil men”. All these scripture references point to the church in Thessalonica facing persecution from those who were hell-bent on hurting followers of Jesus and lovers of God.
If we look at today’s scripture in the context of persecution, Paul is reminding the church that despite their suffering, they should not abandon their love for God. Paul did not want the church in Thessalonica to go down that same road that made the church in Ephesus lose their love for God and their faith. Persecution has a way of either heating up your faith or destroying it. Some people respond to suffering by holding onto God more tightly. Some abandon God altogether.
As a teenager, Karl cherished music. His room was filled with posters of bands and music-related pictures. Hardly a free moment went by when Karl wasn’t listening to music or humming a familiar tune.
When Karl turned thirteen, he asked his parents if he could take guitar lessons. They found him a teacher who was very gifted. However, the teacher pushed hard for Karl to learn his chords, practice his handwork, and learn the art of guitar-playing. Being more of a free spirit, Karl did not take kindly to his teacher’s pressure. When Karl’s fingers got cramped or he messed up a chord, he would sometimes get frustrated at the guitar or his teacher.
One day, while practicing with his guitar, Karl tried a particularly difficult series of chords and music. He grew so upset when he couldn’t get the finger work down right, that he grew moody and irritated. He had worked so diligently to get the music right that he was constantly cramping, and his finger pads were starting to develop blisters. Because of his discomfort, he yelled at his sister during lunch. He refused to do his chores on time. After lunch, he stomped off to his bedroom to practice again. While practicing, two fingers cramped up. Then, in the middle of his work, a string broke on the guitar. Karl was so angry at this series of events, at the hurting of his hands, at the blisters on his fingertips, that he threw his guitar in the corner and vowed never to play again.
Even though Karl loved music and playing the guitar, his suffering caused him to want to abandon playing his favorite instrument due to the difficulties he faced. If you think about it, Karl’s frustration and anger typify what many people feel when they encounter pain or suffering. They don’t enjoy things they love any longer. They get moody and resentful. They lash out. They stop talking to friends or neighbors when those people become unreasonable or mean. They give up what they love because things don’t go their way.
God-fearing people are no exception. They too can lose their love of God when in the midst of suffering, persecution, pain, loss, or turmoil. They can decide that loving God isn’t worth it when people attack their beliefs. With all the criticism of faith found on social media today, some people give up their love of God in order to fit in with worldly standards. Some would rather go with the flow than stand out because of their love of Jesus.
Romans 8 should be echoing in your mind at the closing of this meditation. It states, “What shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” (Romans 8:35) A few verses later, Paul wrote: “I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38–39). It’s true. Nothing can separate us from God. But you can separate yourself from God! You can give up something good in the midst of your suffering. You can let pain drive a wedge between you and others, between you and God. Today’s scripture is a reminder that you need to “direct your heart to the love of God”. Keep your focus on God’s kind of love. Don’t let anything keep you away from God’s loving embrace! Don’t let God’s agape love in you fade away just when our world (including your family, your friends, your church!) needs it the most!
In the book of Revelation, John of Patmos wrote about the love of God that was waning and dying in some of the churches. To the church in Ephesus, John wrote that God was deeply grieved because the church had “abandoned the love they had at first” (Revelation 2:4). God called for the whole church to repent and go back to the loving “works that they used to do” (Revelation 2:5).
Love is a characteristic of God (1 John 4:7-8). If a person lacks love for others, 1 John 4 says that person cannot love God. Jesus acknowledged this same thing years before when he said that all the commandments and laws of God can be boiled down to “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27). Agape love is not a suggested thing for a Christian. It is a requirement, a basic necessity, a sign of God’s presence!
In the scriptural letter for today from 2 Thessalonians, Paul tells the church that the Lord needs to “direct their hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ” (2 Thessalonians 3:5). You might wonder why Paul is asking them to be steadfast in faith and hold on to the love of God. There is a big reason. Persecution. 2 Thessalonians 1:5 mentions that the church had been suffering for their faith in Jesus. 2 Thessalonians 1:6 mentions that some of the followers faced terrible afflictions. In 2 Thessalonians 3:2, Paul hoped that the church may be “delivered from wicked and evil men”. All these scripture references point to the church in Thessalonica facing persecution from those who were hell-bent on hurting followers of Jesus and lovers of God.
If we look at today’s scripture in the context of persecution, Paul is reminding the church that despite their suffering, they should not abandon their love for God. Paul did not want the church in Thessalonica to go down that same road that made the church in Ephesus lose their love for God and their faith. Persecution has a way of either heating up your faith or destroying it. Some people respond to suffering by holding onto God more tightly. Some abandon God altogether.
As a teenager, Karl cherished music. His room was filled with posters of bands and music-related pictures. Hardly a free moment went by when Karl wasn’t listening to music or humming a familiar tune.
When Karl turned thirteen, he asked his parents if he could take guitar lessons. They found him a teacher who was very gifted. However, the teacher pushed hard for Karl to learn his chords, practice his handwork, and learn the art of guitar-playing. Being more of a free spirit, Karl did not take kindly to his teacher’s pressure. When Karl’s fingers got cramped or he messed up a chord, he would sometimes get frustrated at the guitar or his teacher.
One day, while practicing with his guitar, Karl tried a particularly difficult series of chords and music. He grew so upset when he couldn’t get the finger work down right, that he grew moody and irritated. He had worked so diligently to get the music right that he was constantly cramping, and his finger pads were starting to develop blisters. Because of his discomfort, he yelled at his sister during lunch. He refused to do his chores on time. After lunch, he stomped off to his bedroom to practice again. While practicing, two fingers cramped up. Then, in the middle of his work, a string broke on the guitar. Karl was so angry at this series of events, at the hurting of his hands, at the blisters on his fingertips, that he threw his guitar in the corner and vowed never to play again.
Even though Karl loved music and playing the guitar, his suffering caused him to want to abandon playing his favorite instrument due to the difficulties he faced. If you think about it, Karl’s frustration and anger typify what many people feel when they encounter pain or suffering. They don’t enjoy things they love any longer. They get moody and resentful. They lash out. They stop talking to friends or neighbors when those people become unreasonable or mean. They give up what they love because things don’t go their way.
God-fearing people are no exception. They too can lose their love of God when in the midst of suffering, persecution, pain, loss, or turmoil. They can decide that loving God isn’t worth it when people attack their beliefs. With all the criticism of faith found on social media today, some people give up their love of God in order to fit in with worldly standards. Some would rather go with the flow than stand out because of their love of Jesus.
Romans 8 should be echoing in your mind at the closing of this meditation. It states, “What shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” (Romans 8:35) A few verses later, Paul wrote: “I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38–39). It’s true. Nothing can separate us from God. But you can separate yourself from God! You can give up something good in the midst of your suffering. You can let pain drive a wedge between you and others, between you and God. Today’s scripture is a reminder that you need to “direct your heart to the love of God”. Keep your focus on God’s kind of love. Don’t let anything keep you away from God’s loving embrace! Don’t let God’s agape love in you fade away just when our world (including your family, your friends, your church!) needs it the most!