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I Thessalonians 2:1-12
Paul reminds the believers at Thessalonica of his conduct among them. His coming had not been in vain— because they were bold in the gospel through God’s power. Paul had been tested by God, and had been “approved”. He did not flaunt his authority among them or ask them for material support.
They had been gentle among these babies in the faith. Rather they were dear to Paul, and Paul and his fellow teachers worked hard so as not be a burden to gather.
It’s good to set our goals high— not to just be excusable or defensible… but to walk blameless. Paul says he had done so, and charges the Thessalonians to do the same. Having been led by example, they are urged to walk worthy of God’s calling.
How is this possible???
Even if we have done everything, we still do not “deserve” anything from God. Paul is simply urging us to continually walk in a way that God accepts and honors. If it were not possible to walk this way, Paul would simply be teasing his readers with an impossible command!
- An excellent servant keeps going (verse 2)
- An excellent servant seeks to please God, not man (verse 4) Gal. 1:10
- An excellent servant is deeply affectionate towards God’s people
- An excellent servant is hard working
- An excellent servant is quick to make sacrifices
Paul constantly reminded himself that God is watching and aware of how we are serving (or not). He also knew that God does “approve” when we serve him faithfully— he is truly pleased, even though we do not begin to measure up to Him. God examines us, He is aware of our work; may we let that motivate us as we serve Him!