From the Church in Minneapolis to Paul
by Aaron
Dear Paul,
Greetings from the believers in Minneapolis, Minnesota, a big city on a continent and in a time far, far away from you.
We heard of your labor of love in Jesus Christ all over the Mediterranean world (we even have a copy of your letter to the Thessalonians) and despite the vast temporal and geographic gaps, we wanted to write you to ask you for help with our work of faith today.
How did the message of the Gospel come in to power and in the Holy Spirit so that the people received it with full conviction? You write that people became imitators of you and the Lord. How long did that take? Was it an immediate reception of the Holy Spirit? I am discouraged in my present situation because the people with whom we share the gospel treat the message with little regard. Is it us, the leadership, that hinders them from receiving the message? What kind of persons should we prove ourselves to be among them for their sake? The Word of the Lord has not in turn sounded forth from the few people who have come to hear our message about Jesus Christ and they certainly have not changed their lives in any dramatic way, turning from idols or waiting expectantly for Jesus’ return. What should we do? Am I being impatient?
You characterize your conduct among the Thessalonians as without trickery or flattery, innocent as an infant. What does that mean? We pronounce the gospel of Christ in such a way that today Jesus Christ himself hardly gets mentioned. We are afraid that people will become offended and reject our message offhand if we sound or look too much like the old temples. Is that the type of behavior you had in mind?
Concerning the behavior of the folks among whom we work, we do not make nearly any demands. We certainly do not urge, encourage, and plead with them to lead lives worthy of God, as you did with the Thessalonians. They barely know God and have hardly encountered the Holy Spirit in such a way so as to regard sanctification as even a possibility. Is persecution of some sort necessary for the believers to uphold a new manner of living?
We do need Timothy to come to encourage us and bring back to faith those who have fallen away. Though, they have not fallen away because of outside persecutions. In my observation, they feel as though they can pick up and lay down faith and a sanctified life whenever the mood strikes them. Is this because the Holy Spirit has not come upon them in power? Do they need to first belong to our community to receive the Holy Spirit or when they receive the Holy Spirit will they then cleave to the community of believers?
You wrote in your letter, “For we now live, if you continue to stand firm in the Lord,” [3:8]. I sharply understand how you could make such a statement. When folks with whom we have shared the Gospel remain steadfast in their faith, their new life spills over into my life giving renewal in the Holy Spirit. Their hearts changed by Christ is “our glory and our joy,” [3:20]. Conversely, I, myself, as one of the leaders of this little community feel death and despair when those with whom we have shared the Gospel, for many reasons, including my own ineptitude, turn a deaf hear and fall away. Pray for us so that we may earn the esteem and respect of those brothers and sisters with whom we labor. Ask God to give us patience and love abundantly so that our work here will not be in vain.
Send our greetings and thanks to your fellow laborers in service of Jesus Christ.
May the grace of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit keep your heart and mind in Christ.
Greetings from the believers in Minneapolis, Minnesota, a big city on a continent and in a time far, far away from you.
We heard of your labor of love in Jesus Christ all over the Mediterranean world (we even have a copy of your letter to the Thessalonians) and despite the vast temporal and geographic gaps, we wanted to write you to ask you for help with our work of faith today.
How did the message of the Gospel come in to power and in the Holy Spirit so that the people received it with full conviction? You write that people became imitators of you and the Lord. How long did that take? Was it an immediate reception of the Holy Spirit? I am discouraged in my present situation because the people with whom we share the gospel treat the message with little regard. Is it us, the leadership, that hinders them from receiving the message? What kind of persons should we prove ourselves to be among them for their sake? The Word of the Lord has not in turn sounded forth from the few people who have come to hear our message about Jesus Christ and they certainly have not changed their lives in any dramatic way, turning from idols or waiting expectantly for Jesus’ return. What should we do? Am I being impatient?
You characterize your conduct among the Thessalonians as without trickery or flattery, innocent as an infant. What does that mean? We pronounce the gospel of Christ in such a way that today Jesus Christ himself hardly gets mentioned. We are afraid that people will become offended and reject our message offhand if we sound or look too much like the old temples. Is that the type of behavior you had in mind?
Concerning the behavior of the folks among whom we work, we do not make nearly any demands. We certainly do not urge, encourage, and plead with them to lead lives worthy of God, as you did with the Thessalonians. They barely know God and have hardly encountered the Holy Spirit in such a way so as to regard sanctification as even a possibility. Is persecution of some sort necessary for the believers to uphold a new manner of living?
We do need Timothy to come to encourage us and bring back to faith those who have fallen away. Though, they have not fallen away because of outside persecutions. In my observation, they feel as though they can pick up and lay down faith and a sanctified life whenever the mood strikes them. Is this because the Holy Spirit has not come upon them in power? Do they need to first belong to our community to receive the Holy Spirit or when they receive the Holy Spirit will they then cleave to the community of believers?
You wrote in your letter, “For we now live, if you continue to stand firm in the Lord,” [3:8]. I sharply understand how you could make such a statement. When folks with whom we have shared the Gospel remain steadfast in their faith, their new life spills over into my life giving renewal in the Holy Spirit. Their hearts changed by Christ is “our glory and our joy,” [3:20]. Conversely, I, myself, as one of the leaders of this little community feel death and despair when those with whom we have shared the Gospel, for many reasons, including my own ineptitude, turn a deaf hear and fall away. Pray for us so that we may earn the esteem and respect of those brothers and sisters with whom we labor. Ask God to give us patience and love abundantly so that our work here will not be in vain.
Send our greetings and thanks to your fellow laborers in service of Jesus Christ.
May the grace of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit keep your heart and mind in Christ.
posted by Aaron at 5:00 PM
1 Comments:
Should we all be asking these questions in our time?
I love this letter!
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