What if what you do didn’t seem to last—make any real difference? What if the houses a contractor builds forever sit there empty, never become a home? What if the flu shots a nurse gives don’t keep anyone from getting sick, or a fantastic meal is put together but nobody comes to the table? What if a teacher gave their all, stayed late to finish study guides and review notes, but nobody studied and they all bombed the test? What if you planted a garden, but pestilence and pests seemed to keep anything from growing and bearing fruit? We want we do to matter, to make a difference.
In the middle of this weeks text, Paul declares, “For now we live, if you stand fast in the Lord” 1 Thess 3:8. The record in Acts 18:5 shows that once Timothy arrived with that great news of how the Thessalonians were thriving spiritually in faith, in the midst of trouble and opposition, it made a difference to Paul. Hearing this news, he pressed even harder, devoting himself all the more to the ministry of the gospel. It seems even Paul was encouraged to press on in ministry by the good report that the gospel he had sown was bearing lasting fruit. And so it should- the Good news of Christ should make every difference!
There are many ways for us to encourage one another, but perhaps the best is this: if someone has invested in you, given you God’s truth and their own lives, take it up and run with it. Most of us have been given much, by many. What will you do with what you’ve been given? The difference it makes in you will make a difference to others.
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