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| The restored amphitheatre in Thessalonika, with the ruins of the agora, or market place, in the background. Paul would have seen this when visiting the ancient city. |
Paul’s first letter to the church in Thessalonika is one of
the earliest books of the New Testament. It was written in about AD 50,
scarcely thirty years after Jesus’s death and resurrection. Yet it shows a
church alive and thriving, and with an already very developed understanding of
who Jesus was and what he has done for us. This is no “Bible-based church”; it
was a going concern before the first New Testament book was written!
In Paul’s greeting at the beginning of the letter, he
praises God for the Thessalonians’ faith, hope and love in Jesus Christ. But he
does this in a striking way when he speaks of their “work of faith and labour
of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” Why does he use
these phrases?
The “work of faith” is unusual. Many people set the two
against each other. What Paul means is that in their everyday life, people
could see the faith of the Thessalonians at work. The “labour of love” shows
clearly that Christian love is expressed in the way we act towards one another.
“Love one another just as I have loved you” says Jesus, who laid down his life
for our salvation. Finally, “steadfastness in hope” refers to the virtue which
sustains our faith in Jesus Christ when all around us seems hopeless. The
Thessalonians had been persecuted shortly after their conversion, and they had
survived that persecution with their faith intact. Thus, to be steadfast in
hope means to remain faithful to Jesus, no matter what.
In short, Paul shows us that faith, hope and love are not
mere feelings, but virtues of action. We live our faith in Jesus Christ by
acting according to his will, which includes prayer and worship, and extending
the love we receive from him to all around us.
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