“Your faith toward God has gone out” (1 Thess. 1:8, NKJV)
I watched a television series where a foible by a network anchor went viral over social media. Numbers of responses and comments ticked up faster than our country’s national debt. The news spread like wildfire, along with its repercussions.
Paul describes a first century version of that in the case of the church at Thessalonica. Word had gotten out that these residents of the Macedonian capital had turned to Christ in the gospel and that they were examples to the flock (1 Thess. 1:7-8).
The apostle gives us a feel for the self-evident spread of the news that had taken the area by storm and was turning the world upside-down. “For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place. Your faith toward God has gone out, so that we do not need to say anything” (1 Thess. 1:9).
It is almost as if the good news of salvation had a life of its own and was spreading like a wildfire, licking up lives for Christ in its path. And in a way it did have a life of its own, because the spread of the gospel was being orchestrated by the Holy Spirit and was no mere idle gossip or marketing ploy.
Paul says that the word of the Lord had sounded forth. The news hung in the air, caused widespread attention, and created a stir. That’s remarkable not just because the Thessalonians were not particularly receptive but because of the power of God at work to do marvelous things.
What exactly was spreading like wildfire? Paul says it was their faith in God. The news was getting out. The word of the Lord was on the move. But it was the result of those things in the lives of the Thessalonians that was particularly causing such a stir.
Paul will get more specific about the report he has been receiving, but here our attention is directed to the stir being caused. It brings to mind the catastrophic California wildfires that dominated the news. Aerial images showed vast swaths of land being consumed by unstoppable flames that jumped roads, changed lives, and occupied the attention of a nation.
Investigations revealed some of the causes for the various land fires, ranging from lightning strikes to electrical sparks to careless campers to arson. Paul’s investigation into the Macedonian wildfire points us to a single cause, the gospel that came not only in word but in power and the Holy Spirit, setting flame to the tinder of God’s truth laid up in hearts.
How would you compare what was happening in Thessalonica with efforts and effects of evangelism in our day? We are maybe willing to conduct a controlled burn, between designated hours, with certain safeguards in place.
But are we willing to risk the unmanageable and cataclysmic repercussions of the proclamation of the gospel of the kingdom of God? Perhaps the answer to that question is summed by the Paul’s description of faith (1:8). Is our faith in God? Does our faith look to God, reaching out toward Him for what only He can do?
How can we infuse our witness with greater power and expectation?
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
