If someone does something and gets paid handsomely for it, the next time they do it we can assume that part of the reason is the money. But if they do something and find themselves beaten up and thrown into jail, the next time they do it we rightly assume that they have some reason so compelling that it will make them carry on even though they run the same risk. So it was with Paul; he arrived in Thessalonica with the physical and emotional scars of his shameful treatment in Philippi, and when he spoke this time there was once again much opposition. But, so far from being cowed, or afraid that the same thing might happen, Paul carried right on, and indeed found himself speaking with great freedom and excitement; the key word in verse 2 indicates that he was bold, outspoken, fearless in telling the whole gospel. As he himself says frequently, somehow the suffering not only validates the gospel (it shows that the preacher isn’t in it for the wrong reasons), but also, surprisingly, gives a sense of joy and freedom. Clearly the world-shaking message is going home. At the heart of it all is the approval, not of humans, but of God. Again and again in this passage Paul speaks of God: he was bold in God, he preached the gospel of God, he had been approved or validated by God, he was aiming simply to please God, and God was his witness that he was not exercising this ministry in secret pursuit of greed. Having spoken of the true and living God in contrast to idols, it’s clear that Paul found himself living in the presence of that God, knowing that his own heart was under scrutiny as he went about his work. God had entrusted him with the gospel, like a monarch entrusting to a messenger an announcement for subjects far away. His responsibility was to deliver the message whole and entire, without regard for his own place in the proceedings, or to any honour or reward that might or might not come his way. He wasn’t going to allow his status as a herald of the king to puff up his own self-importance. In his dealings with the Thessalonians themselves, as a result, Paul could afford to be gentle, caring and loving. He wasn’t secretly out to gain anything from them; he simply and genuinely wanted the love of God to embrace them, and as he worked among them he found that his own love was drawn out to them as well. Those who have had the privilege of being ministered to by people with this motivation know how wonderful it is when pastors share with them not only the gospel but their own very selves. Those of us who have had good Christian friends, at school, college, work or in social life, will know the same thing. And, in case anyone supposes (if we find ourselves being cynical as we read Paul) that Paul is praising himself too much, we should reflect that he could hardly have written all this—and the scribe taking Paul’s dictation could hardly have copied it down—if it wasn’t true. --N. Tom Wright, Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians
Posted on: Tue, 02 Dec 2014 08:52:33 +0000
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