“Like APPLES OF GOLD in a setting of silver Is a word spoken at the proper time.” Proverbs 25v11
Today we conclude our meditations on the three memories mentioned in the first book of Thessalonians chapter 1verse 3: “We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labour prompted by love and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ”. In our first study we saw that our Christian life begins when we do the work of faith which is to turn wholeheartedly to God and then last week, we looked at the labour prompted by love which is what we do to further God’s Kingdom.
Today we conclude by focusing on the meaning of endurance inspired by hope. Endurance is a dogged determination to not give up even when trials and disappointments come our way. Hope is a word which we often associate with doubt especially if it is followed by the word so. For instance, if someone asked us whether our children have done well in the Matric exams and we answer “I hope so” it means we are unsure and are crossing our fingers. Biblical hope on the other hand is the confident expectation or assurance that Jesus has prepared a place for us and will come back and take us to be with Him to be where He is (John 14v2). Endurance prompted by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ should lead to a desire to serve and honour the Lord despite what life throws at us.
As 2024 dawns let us forget the past and create new memories of relevance and purpose as Paul writes in Philippians 3 v13: “forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus”. However, let us be careful we don’t become like the church of Ephesus who “lost their first love” (Revelation 2v2). Their Christianity had become a life of drudgery consisting of “work, labour and endurance” because they were relying on their own selves and quenching the Holy Spirit who wants to produce in us more and more ‘faith, love and hope’.
Let us make a New Year’s resolution to be less of us and more of Christ by taking up the challenge for work produced by faith, labour prompted by love and endurance inspired by hope and we will then have a meaningful and joyful new year.
Amen
Graeme Greenwood