Human babies cannot survive on their own. What did Moses’ mother feel when she put her boy in the basket in the river Nile? Our recent reading of Exodus made me wonder. Stories of infants separated from their parents by kidnapping or war make our minds spin. We would fear the worst for a baby left alone.
Paul felt some of those emotions when he was forced to flee from Thessalonica, leaving a fledgling church behind. Would the seed of the gospel which he had planted really take root? Or would his adversaries whisk the faith away from these new converts? When he could stand it no longer, Paul sent Timothy to find out about the faith of the Thessalonians who had placed their trust in Christ. Timothy’s return brought good news.
We live our whole Christian lives in the shelter of each other. Our relationships with each other are a matter of spiritual life and death. Listen to Paul burst forth with emotion, when he says, “Now we really live since you are standing firm in the Lord.” The growing faith of the Thessalonians encourages the apostle. As he offers thanks for the joy their continuing commitment brings, Paul and his companions continue to pray for the Thessalonians. What does God’s servant ask in his prayers? Paul wants to see them and supply what is lacking in their faith. His preaching had been stopped mid-sentence. So he prayed that he might complete their discipleship training.
This letter reminds us that the work of the gospel is not just to make converts. We don’t “save and strand” new believers as we move quickly to another evangelistic campaign. As babies must mature through childhood and adolescence to reach adulthood, believers in Christ must be nurtured as we grow to maturity. The church must not shirk this responsibility. We help each other, sharpening each other, as we grow up into the likeness of Christ. Evangelism without discipleship amounts to ministerial malpractice.
