1 Thessalonians 5:1-3

1 Thessalonians 5:1-3

And regarding the times and seasons, brothers and sisters, you all do not have a need to write to you all.  For you yourselves have known accurately that a day of the Lord comes as a thief in the night.  When they should say, “Peace and safety,” then utter ruin comes upon them as birth pains upon the pregnant one.  And they should surely not escape.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Once more we hear Paul reassure the Thessalonians that they do not have a need to know more about the day of the Lord.  They have been taught what they need to know.  There is no secret knowledge out there that they do not know.  They aren’t missing anything that people can hold over their heads or use as reason to make them feel less mature.  They know what will happen.  It is easy for people to make us feel dumb or stupid; we should not be so quick to let them make us feel that way.

When do you need reassurance in what you know?  When is it easy for you to feel as though you don’t know all that you need to know?

Second Thought:

Paul uses two analogies to speak about a day of the Lord.  Neither of them are pleasant.  The first analogy is the thief in the night.  We think we are safe.  We think we are secure.  Then all of a sudden our security is shattered and we are confronted by an outsider breaking into our security.  So it will be with Christ.  We think we have life under control.  We think that we have it all made.  We think that we have built up a nice life around ourselves.  But then Christ will return.  We’ll see our life exposed for what it is.  That which is of God will stand the test.  That which is not of God will be stripped away.

How does this image frighten you?  In what ways should you be frightened?  What do you have in your life that will be stripped away?  In what ways should you not be frightened?  How does God’s promise of salvation help us look into this time to come?

Third Thought:

The second analogy that Paul uses is the pregnant woman.  I don’t know a single woman who would voluntarily transport back in time just to feel the birth process happen again.  On the other hand, I don’t know many women who after it had passed didn’t feel an appreciation for the sense of motherhood that entered their life.  Christ’s return will be painful.  It will be hard.  We won’t want to revisit that moment again.  But when we get to the other side of judgment it will be worth it completely!

Have you ever had to endure something hard in order to experience joy and fulfillment?  When is that hard?  What is the perspective that helps us get through those moments?

Passage for Tomorrow: 1 Thessalonians 5:4-6