2 Thessalonians 1:9-10

2 Thessalonians 1:9-10

These will suffer punishment: eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord and the glory of His might when He should come to be glorified in His holy ones and to be the subject of marvel in all the ones who believed – because our testimony upon you all was being believed – in that day.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

We continue on with the idea of judgment in the first verse.  But look at how Paul describes judgment in this passage: being away from the presence of the Lord and His glory.  Yes, people will encounter destruction, fire, and all of the other things that we talked about earlier.  But the true sadness will be in the eternal separation from God.  All good things come from God.  What Paul is describing is an existence with no true goodness in it.  That’s the punishment for rejecting God.

What do you think life would be like without the goodness of God?  What would life be like in complete separation from the presence of God?

Second Thought:

Furthermore, look at when Paul says that they will enter judgment: when Christ should come.  Once more we hear that the trigger for the eternal beginning is the return of Christ.  We will enter into God’s presence when Christ returns.  Those outside of Christ will enter into judgment when Christ returns.  Our focus should be on that moment as the time when the eternal will begin and we will be transformed into an eternal existence – whether for good or for bad.

How does this thought affect your thinking about the eternal?  How important is this point really in the greater scheme of Christianity?

Third Thought:

Furthermore, look at what Paul turns to when he begins speaking about the believers.  Paul talks about Jesus being glorified among them.  Eternal life – for the believers – is going to be about glorifying Jesus.  It is so easy for us to think about eternal life and what we will get.  It is easy for us to focus on all the people that we will get to meet.  It’s easy for us to think about all of the questions to which we’ll finally get answers.  But when Paul talks about the eternal, none of those things even enter the conversation.  Paul speaks about giving glory to Jesus.  That’s the focus of the eternal.

How like Paul are you?  When you think about eternal life, do you think about glorifying Jesus or the other things that are often touted about in the world as the focus of eternal life?

Passage for Tomorrow: 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12