“To the church of the Thessalonians…” (1 Thess. 1:1)
When you go through your daily snail mail and you come across a letter addressed to “occupant” or “current resident” how do you handle that correspondence? Likely, you don’t even open it. You deposit it directly in the circular file. Even those letters that do bear your name, you weigh carefully before giving them the dignity of your time and attention.
The letter the church at Thessalonica had in hand did bear their name and was from someone they knew. They would have opened it with a sense of familiarity and interest.
Paul’s labors among the Thessalonians can be found in Acts 17. Although he experienced significant resistance there, he witnessed the work of the Holy Spirit to bring fruit to his labors for the gospel. But Paul’s heart was not merely for conversion statistics. He had a sincere and deep affection for the people and their progress in the faith. That affection is prominent in his letter.
Paul had wanted to return to see how they were doing but he was hindered by Satan (2:18). Instead of personally going, he sent Timothy to check up on them. The apostle’s heart for the saints in Thessalonica is laid bare in his response to Timothy’s report: “But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and brought us good news of your faith and love, and that you always have good remembrance of us, greatly desiring to see us, as we also to see you—therefore, brethren, in all our affliction and distress we were comforted concerning you by your faith. For now we live, if you stand fast in the Lord” (1 Thess. 3:6–8).
The word translated “greatly desiring” could also be rendered “longing.” This intense concern and the effort involved in addressing it are expressive of the longing that compelled Paul to write. It’s like when we send our children to college and are deeply interested in how they will fare spiritually. Will pagan professors and peers persuade them away from Christ? Is the faith they carried from home packed away in a suitcase or is it ensconced in their hearts?
The whole of this first letter to the church at Thessalonica is birthed in longing, bathed in longing, and begets longing. But longing is also a topic in Paul’s discussion within of the Christian hope and the experience of grief that Paul will address pastorally.
Over the weeks ahead we will explore the anatomy of a longing heart in the comfort of the gospel, and lay hold of the parameters of hope founded in our triune God. The Spirit will teach us how to grieve in Christ and how to hope in Christ.
It is significant to note that this epistle is addressed not merely to an individual, like we might send someone a sympathy card at the death a loved one. It is addressed to a church, a community of believers who share a common faith and a unique hope, under one Lord. Paul’s letter will not only administer comfort and confidence to individuals, it will serve as fuel for mutual encouragement and edification among the body.
What various terms (positive and negative) would you use to describe longing?
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.
