Devotion:
For an audio version of this devotion, click here.
Read 1 Thessalonians 5:12-15.
These final instructions that Paul gives out in this scripture passage are hard to live out. He is asking us to praise others who work hard and to be grateful when they reprimand us for wrongdoing. Paul says we are to live in peace. That seems impossible these days. We are to strive to do what is good for each other even if we do not know them. How often do we want to treat someone poorly because they have treated us badly? Paul instructs us to not pay back wrong with wrong.
Part of our Christian behavior is to encourage others and be patient. Are we thinking of this when we blast our horn when a car is slow to go through a green traffic light? Do we hurriedly run with our grocery cart to get in the checkout line ahead of someone? We are supposed to be Christlike. Take meals to someone who is sick. Feeding the homeless, mentoring someone who is in jail, teaching a Bible study, and working toward justice are all ways that we can live out the instructions in this passage. We are to live and serve together. It is challenging and hard to live the Jesus way. It is also rewarding to live this way and be thankful for the sacrificial love and grace that we have been shown.
Personal Worship Option:
God, Make us channels of your peace and help us to show love and grace to those around us. Amen.
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