Spiritual Growth
It is God's will for every Christian to grow into the image of Christ. We never fully reach that goal until we make it to heaven, but we should strive to keep growing in Him until the Lord takes us home. Paul commended the believers in Thessalonica on their growth in faith and in love. (II Thessalonians 1:3) He had prayed for them to grow, and now he had the pleasure of affirming their progress in faith and love. They were accomplishing God's will.
As I wrote yesterday, Paul prayed for the believers in Thessalonica to increase and abound in love. I would image Paul kept praying that prayer, as well as praying for growth in faith in other areas of their lives. Then, he rejoiced to hear that they had made so much progress that he used them as an example to other churches. That is quite a commendation by the apostle Paul. I wonder how many of us are growing like this? I wonder how many churches he would commend for spiritual growth today? Let's make it our goal each day to grow in love and faith, so that we can be more and more like Jesus. That would please the Lord a lot, and perhaps He could commend us when we stand before Him for the Judgment.
Tomorrow, I intend to read II Thessalonians 2-3 and I Timothy 1-2.
As I wrote yesterday, Paul prayed for the believers in Thessalonica to increase and abound in love. I would image Paul kept praying that prayer, as well as praying for growth in faith in other areas of their lives. Then, he rejoiced to hear that they had made so much progress that he used them as an example to other churches. That is quite a commendation by the apostle Paul. I wonder how many of us are growing like this? I wonder how many churches he would commend for spiritual growth today? Let's make it our goal each day to grow in love and faith, so that we can be more and more like Jesus. That would please the Lord a lot, and perhaps He could commend us when we stand before Him for the Judgment.
Tomorrow, I intend to read II Thessalonians 2-3 and I Timothy 1-2.