by Bud Lambert
The church in Thessalonica was a great church. Paul refers to it as "a model to all believers in Macedonia and Achaia" ( I Thessalonians 1 :7). Unlike the Corinthian church that was striving to be great according to the world's standard ( 1 Corinthians 1-4), the Thessalonian church was striving to be great according to God's standard. One godly characteristic of the Thessalonian church was "endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ" ( I Thessalonians 1 :3).
Great churches are made up of people who endure - people who are not quitters. The church in Thessalonica faced severe suffering as they worked and labored for the Lord ( 1 Thessalonians 1:6; Acts 17:1-9; 2 Thessalonians 1:4), but they never quit. They endured. They persevered. They continued to work for the Lord in spite of personal suffering. Great churches are not where everything is perfect but where sincere Christians are patiently enduring imperfection.
Such endurance is achieved through hope. But it is not just any hope. The hope that empowers Christians to keep serving the Lord when the going gets tough is not based on anything that the world has to offer (personal recognition, fame, fortune, etc.). Instead, it is based on what God offers through Christ.
Abel, Enoch, Noah, and Abraham were endurers who had such a hope. They admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. They longed for a better country - a heavenly one, a city prepared for them by God ( Hebrews 11:13-16). So they endured.
Because of his hope, Paul wasn't a quitter either. Listen to what he says: "Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal" ( 2 Corinthians 4: 16-18).
Great churches are made up of people who are inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ to faithfully use their abilities in service to God in the face of discouraging circumstances. Let's be a great church!