Faith, Hope & Love:1 Thessalonians 1:3In Philosophy of Ministry: Part I , faith, hope and love were introduced as the foundational cornerstones of a Practical Discipleship Philosophy of Ministry. Today, I want to look at how these work. 1 Thessalonians 1:3 says, “we continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” Work produced by faith The work produced by faith is the work of turning to God from my idols. Without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). My faith leads me to put my trust in Jesus Christ as my Savior and my Lord. The Thessalonians faith led them to do the same thing. In verse 9, Paul reports “they turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God.” That was the work of their faith, turning from idols to serve the living and true God. Its also the work of my faith. I had to turn from the idols in my life to serving the living and true God. I am still tempted to send too much time focusing on my job, too much energy relating to people, being distracted by electronic devices like television, Internet, computer games, etc. I need to turn from these and focus on God. But I do it because I believe by faith it is best for me. Not because it is a rule or law. Not because I fear that something terrible will happen to me if I don't. But because I believe something good will happen to me if I do! I meet with God everyday. By faith, I believe that He and I will become better friends. And so far, its working! Labor prompted by love The labor prompted by love is the labor of helping other people get to know God better. Labor is the thing that wears me down. No matter how much I enjoy a task or a responsibility, it will eventually wear me down. Some labor is more tiring than others. Why would people chose to do something that is going to be hard for them? Paul says they do it because they love God. I know people who say they hate their job. Yet, day after day, week after week, year after year, they show up and do a pretty good job carrying out their responsibilities. Why? Because they love somebody and they want to care and provide for them. In order to do that, they need to work a job they hate so they can bring home a pay check. Some people do things that are hard for them because of fear. Fear of failure. Fear of success, yes, fear of success. Fear of being inferior. Fear of others. Fear of suffering. Fear of rejection. Pleasing people is another motivator for doing hard things. None of these motivations is what God desires. He desires me to be motivated by love. I lead Bible studies, mentor men, vacuum the church carpet, clean the activity center bathroom because I love God. I do yard work for the elderly, share the gospel with people, chaperone the youth group lock-in and give to the poor because I love God. Endurance inspired by hope Endurance inspired by hope means to never, ever, ever give up following Jesus Christ and making disciples. No matter what. I have been a Christian for over 30 years. Sometimes I get tired. Sometimes I get worn out. I have watched my friends go through the same tiredness. Other times I have suffered what I consider to be difficult trials. Loss of a job. A miscarried baby. Death of a friend. Serious health problems. Difficult relationships with family and friends. I have watched my friends go through the same or worse trials. Over 30 years I have invested my life into the lives of dozens of other men and women. Some of them have continued to walk with Jesus Christ and make disciples. Some of them have not. I tell them all the same thing, “At some point in your life you will need to decide that you are going to walk with God and make disciples, even if no one else around you does.” I have to remind myself that I made this decision. I have to remind myself often! I need to endure. I need to keep practicing the discipleship of Jesus Christ no matter how tired I get or how difficult the trials I face. Why would you or I or anyone decide to endure following Jesus when it gets tough? The early disciples faced the same question. “Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” (John 6:68) There is no acceptable substitute for following Jesus! They kept following Jesus because He had the words of eternal life. Their hope was based in the truth about who Jesus Christ is. My hope is based on the same thing. And my hope keeps me walking with Jesus Christ and making His disciples. How do you demonstrate faith, hope and love in your life?
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Posted on December 20, 2008
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