Paul, Silas and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace to you. We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

As we begin to study the book of I Thessalonians, a little background and context on the book is helpful. Paul wrote this in roughly 51-52 A.D., aided by Silas and Timothy, his partners in ministry. Thessalonica (now Thessaloniki) was a major port in the Roman Empire (located in what is now the country of Greece). It was about halfway along The Egnatian Way, a major Roman road that went from modern day Istanbul (formerly Constantinople), in Turkey, west to Durres, a roughly 640 mile road. A crossroad to the north went through major cities that are now modern-day Sofia, Belgrade, Budapest, and Prague. The church was started via preaching in the Jewish synagogue, so Jews were likely a part of it, but it was made up of mostly Gentiles (non-Jews).

Paul begins his letter in a similar way to other letters, with a greeting: “Grace and Peace to you”. This is an important beginning. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” (‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2‬:‭8‬-‭9‬). God’s grace to us while trapped in sin and deserving death is at once humbling and invigorating. It helps us realize that without him (and on our own) we are nothing; but with his saving grace we have gained everything!

He then talks about peace. Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (‭‭John‬ ‭14‬:‭27‬) This world gives turmoil, disruption, pain, and evil. Jesus gives all good things to us that lead to peace with him and God. We can have eternal peace in the midst of a chaotic world.

Finally, he lets them know that he is praying for them and thanking God for them. He picks out a major attribute of the culture of the church to compliment them on: their hard work. Their work and labor for Christ and endurance in the faith is based on their faith, hope, and love. And it has not gone unnoticed by these leaders or by God.

Do I ever get tired of working hard in the faith? Do I grow weary of doing good? I admit it, at times I do and am tempted to just take it easy in my service to God. But what keeps me from doing this? Is it not my faith that his plans are for my best, my hope in eternity with him, and the love of Jesus that compels me to strive to reach those that are lost with his saving grace?
Lord, thank you for this great reminder that hard work honors you and it has spiritual rewards that I can’t even imagine — they are so GREAT! Help me to take courage from these verses today and to redouble my efforts — rallied around your Son, Jesus!