I never much cared for the way the daily readings have been broken up this year. Sometimes they break either a verse or two into a new thought or leave the last verse or two of a particular thought and include it with the next day’s reading. In the case of today’s NT reading, it just seems so random to have included the first 4 verses of 2 Thessalonians in yesterday’s reading of the end of Paul’s first book to the church at Thessalonica. So I choose to back up a couple verses and begin with verse 3 today instead of verse 5:
3We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing. 4Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring. 5All this is evidence that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering.
Wow. Imagine Paul writing that to our congregation: “Southern Hills, I thank God for you because your faith is growing stronger every day! Not only that, but I can see the love you have for each other — also growing more and more every day. In fact, I was over at Westover Hills the other day, and was boasting to them about the way you stick together and trust God, even in spite of all that you’re going through right now.”
What a compliment that would be. Yet it’s really verse 5 that caught my eye this morning:
“…you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God…”
Now if that doesn’t make you feel humble, I don’t know what it would take. “But he didn’t write that to us,” you say. Ok, I’ll buy that, but ask yourself this — is there any condition, any situation, any set of circumstances, that could cause or would cause our congregation (or you as an individual) to “as a result, …be counted worthy of the kingdom of God”? Now before you rush to answer humbly in the negative something to the effect that “of course not, no one is worthy of the kingdom of God,” I’ll wait while you read verses 3-5 again.
Notice Paul never said the Thessalonian church was worthy of the kingdom of God; he said they will be counted worthy. Why? He answers that too; it was because of their faith.
If God in His righteous judgment chooses to reconcile me to Christ, not counting my sins against me (2 Corinthians 5:18-19), if in His infinite mercy He chooses to count me worthy of the kingdom of God, it is for the same reason as He counted the Thessalonians worthy — because of their (my) faith (v. 4-5), because of the work Christ has already done (2 Corinthians 5:21).
How’s your faith? Will you be counted worthy of the kingdom of God?