I Thessalonians 5:1-11 (NRSV)
Read I Thessalonians 5:1-11 on biblegateway.com
Chapter 5Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anything written to you. Verse 2For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. Verse 3When they say, "There is peace and security," then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there will be no escape! Verse 4But you, beloved, are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief; Verse 5for you are all children of light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness.
Verse 6So then let us not fall asleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober; Verse 7for those who sleep sleep at night, and those who are drunk get drunk at night. Verse 8But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. Verse 9For God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, Verse 10who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep we may live with him.
Verse 11Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing.
Devotion
I was not surprised when the labor pains started. Frankly, I had been hoping they would start for a long time. Pregnancy was difficult and I longed for it to be over. I couldn’t wait to hold my baby in my arms, not in my womb. The labor pains were more than welcome. Therefore, Paul’s imagery in his letter to the Thessalonians regarding the time of Christ’s coming doesn’t work too well for me.
Yet his message remains clear -- whatever lies ahead, there are good things to hold onto and to be about: things like faith, love, and encouragement. Make these happy things the heart of our days and deeds, not because there is nothing frightening about the changes in times and seasons and the unknown that lies ahead, but because we are already the beloved of the One who watches over all these things. There is nothing to fear.
Prayer
Help us, Living God, to be good to our neighbors, and to trust in your amazing grace. Amen.