English Standard Version
We are a nation of individuals. When we think of our goals, we so often think of our individual goals. We think of career goals and savings goals and dreams that we'll accomplish. Maybe it's the way our schools are set up, or perhaps it's simply the ethos of the country -- we look out for #1.
It's refreshingly tender the way that Paul addresses the Thessalonians. The good news of their faith is food for his hungry soul. He doesn't consider his job done well if he preaches a good sermon and leaves town well paid -- it's an ongoing relationship, an interdependency in which he craves the success of another. He defines his success on the well-being of the community, and so his earnest prayers are for his fellow Christians, because in hearing of their good news, he is overjoyed.
The Kingdom of God is interdependent -- we are one body, linked together through the work of the Holy Spirit, all imperfectly striving together to love and to serve. We in the modern church would do well to think about how to live this out in the here and now -- how can we find joy in the success of others?
This does connect to the protests in today's America. For too long, those who are succeeding have been content, while others who are falling behind, due to a complex multitude of reasons, haven't been considered essential to the joy of the successful. We'd be wise to think of how we can find joy in helping lift one another up, hearing the voices of those who are suffering and finding ways to support the poor and downtrodden. Can we mourn for a divided society, and invest in one another to the point where we, like Paul, are thrilled to hear good news from other communities? Can we worry less about ourselves and more about one another?
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