Growing to Maturity
June 15
Paul feared that the church in Thessalonica might have wavered in their faith, so he sent Timothy to them to check on their spiritual health. Paul was greatly encouraged by what Timothy reported. So, in the first two chapters, Paul praised the church for how they had responded to the Gospel; here in chapter three, he learned that their participation in the Gospel was not just something in the distant past. They continued to embrace the Gospel message!
The final paragraph of chapter three (1 Thessalonians 3:11–13) reads like the end of the letter, but it’s not. He prays that he would be able to travel back to the church again. He prays that God would continue to increase in their love, and they would overflow in love. The word “overflow” is used of a flower going from a bud to full bloom.[1] Elsewhere, Paul speaks of growing to maturity, emphasizing the same idea.
Application
God doesn’t want us to mature. He wants us to grow in our faith until we are fully developed in our faith. To get there, (not that we will ever “arrive” on this side of glory) we must actively pursue God for the long haul. Our experience with God was never intended to be a flash in the pan. (Philippians 1:6) We were designed to have an ever-growing, ever-active walk with Him.
Paul was greatly encouraged that the Thessalonians’ faith was still active and alive, and not just something that happened years earlier.
What about your faith? When you look back at your conversion, does your current walk with Jesus look like it did back then? Have you walked away from your faith? The fact that you’re reading this gives some indication that you are interested in growing spiritually. Are you still actively growing in your walk with Jesus? Are you spending time with God in prayer and Bible engagement? Do you regularly practice the Spiritual Disciplines to help keep your spiritual edge sharp?
[1] Strong, James. Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon, Woodside Bible Fellowship, 1995.