Thessalonians

August 28, 2009, the downtown coffee stop bustled with visitors. Everyone from the Armani suited business man to the young beautiful artisan. Ebeneezer's coffee shop sits a stones throw away from Union Station in the illustrious capitol of the USA. The following week had included the post registration of the freshman students. The work of an Admissions Counselor never ends only slows down to catch your breath. I sat with my Bible open to the anthology of Thessalonians.

Every person has an internal clock that tells them to slow down. Start taking life in focus. This three hour coffee stop only intensified my need to come back to gravity. The past six months came as a hurricane. A three week trip from Springfield, MO turned into a permanent move back to Phoenixville, PA. Since starting in the Admissions department in May, life rolled at an accelerating pace. Long days at the office mixed with involvement with my old college church and random activities along the way.

Thessalonians includes a strange affinity to those in Christian service. The Apostle Paul takes the voice of the life coach or better yet the trusted parent. He never shies away from stern rebuke, but pads that with prayers offered up of thanksgiving. As you read these books, the overwhelming inference concludes that these Thessalonians value extends from the grace of the living and active Jesus Christ. So that brings Paul tension between his overwhelming joy, but also the Thessalonians ability for the Gospel to manifest in their real life.

Towards the end of II Thessalonians Paul concludes, "But as for you brethren do not grow weary of doing good." He has taken two books to paint the picture of walking in sanctification and remembering the glorious picture of what Jesus Christ has done. He has dealt with lazy people who do not work. These people have felt the social pressure from following Christ. Not the trendy thing to do. Paul modeled to them by taking on the bi-vocational ministry. For some reason this ending fits.

Maybe all of this made sense to me, because I constant wonder if I have done enough. If legalism had it's own version of AA, "Hello, my name is Peter and I have been a legalist..." The Thessalonians had areas going for them, but they needed that coach or parent to redirect them. In this moment of my life at DC, the power of those words meant more to me than any other time. "Don't be weary in well doing..."

1st and 2nd Thessalonians end with "May the God of peace sanctify you..." So with a personality that thrives on up tightness and constantly moving, I especially need to be brought back to the fact that Jesus Christ peacefully changes us as we walk with Him. He at times halts our lives to re-focus and re-direct. Our lives hustle and bustle without taking the time to look at how we have changed, but also the gentle work of Christ in our lives. I have a feeling my affinity to this book will not end soon, but take a look who knows what you will see...