We got my grandson a child’s guitar for Christmas this year. He will stand in front of the television watching music videos of worship songs, belting out the vocals in a three-year voice, and strumming his guitar, trying to copy the people in the video. My wife watches our grandkids two days per week, one of those days at our house. Last week, my grandson didn’t bring his guitar to our house, but he still wanted to watch music videos. And when he watches music videos, he needs his guitar. So she gave him a rectangular pillow, and he pretended the pillow was his guitar.
Kids love to imitate. But it’s not just kids. Adults, do we imitate others? We do. Yes, we all have unique elements to our lives, but there is quite a bit that we have learned by copying others. The issue, in my opinion, is not imitation. The issue is that there is good imitation and bad imitation. In other words, are you imitating the right things?
Let’s talk about imitation.
Last week we learned that the early Christian missionary, Paul, had started a network of house churches in the city of Thessalonica. After a short three weeks with them, he was forced to flee the city. Weeks turned into months, and he became very concerned how these new Christians were doing. He sent his ministry associate, Timothy, to visit them, and Timothy returned with very good news. The Christians in Thessalonica were standing strong. Paul is elated and writes a letter to them, about six months after he first met them. It is likely the first New Testament writing, 1st Thessalonians.
In 1st Thessalonians chapter 1, verses 4-10, which we are studying this week, Paul will describe how the Christians in Thessalonica responded to his preaching during those three weeks, and how they continued living for Christ in the ensuing months. What we will see is that their response to Paul’s preaching is very instructive to us. How should we respond to God’s word?
It’s been a while since I blogged through one of Paul’s works, so let’s begin by saying a few words about Paul. Paul is super smart. He was well-trained, well-read, articulate, able to process deep ideas and express them intricately. In fact, Jesus’ disciple Peter writes in 2 Peter 3 that what Paul writes is hard to understand. I love that Peter mentions that. Peter is saying what so many people are thinking, “Paul makes my brain hurt.”
But when we take the time to study what Paul says, we will find that his words are profound. It means, though, that we need to slow down when we study Paul. When we studied the life of David, we were almost always reading a very dramatic story. The life of David is gripping; it holds your attention just because the details of the story are interesting. Thus we often studied a couple chapters per week.
But now we are studying a very different kind of literature. Like I mentioned last week, we are reading a letter. And not just that, the content of the letter is theological. It’s deep. So we have to slow down.
Let me paraphrase verses 4 and 5 in my own words. Paul is saying, “I know that you Christians in Thessalonica were genuine and true in your decision to become followers of Jesus. How do I know it? Because I watched how the Holy Spirit was at work with power, and how you responded with deep conviction.”
Paul is remembering his three weeks with them in Thessalonica, and he is saying, “I know you guys are real-deal followers of Jesus.” He is affirming them.
But what does he mean when he says that the Holy Spirit was at work with power, and the Thessalonians responded with deep conviction? Check back tomorrow to the next post, as I try to answer those questions. It has everything to do with imitation.
Photo by Leandro Mazzuquini on Unsplash
Engaging Scripture 