1 Thessalonians 5:25-28

1 Thessalonians 5:25-28

Brothers and sisters, pray also for us.  Greet all the brothers in a holy kiss.  I adjure you all in the Lord to read the letter aloud to all of the brothers.  The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Paul asks for the prayers of the Thessalonians.  I am always humbled by Paul’s request for prayers.  To ask for prayer means that we are acknowledging that we need help.  We need support.  We have a concern in our life that we feel is beyond our control.  To ask for prayer is fundamentally to ask other people to join with us in the imperfection of life.  Paul has no issue acknowledging that he lives in an imperfect world and then inviting others into that same perspective.

Where are you asking for prayer?  Where are others asking for prayer from you?

Second Thought:

Paul wants the letter to be read aloud to everyone.  We are not to choose who is good enough to know something and who is not.  We are certainly in a position to not force learning upon others.  We are certainly in a position to not teach those who aren’t interested.  But if we are in a position to share with a person who is demonstrating their desire to learn then we have an obligation to share and teach and encourage.

With whom do you share the faith?  With whom do you not share the faith but could?

Third Thought:

I love that Paul always ends on a note of grace.  After all, we aren’t going to be able to live up to all of the instructions of God through Paul.  We’ll make mistakes.  None of us will deserve salvation.  So we rely upon grace.  At the end of this letter, the Thessalonians and we need to remember that grace is the crucible upon which our lives truly rest.

Are you good at remembering grace in the end?  Are you good at making sure your last words to other people are filled with grace?

Passage for Tomorrow: 2 Thessalonians 1:1-2