I heard thunder and saw lightning flash under a door once, as a Texas Baptist pastor and a Cambridge scholar argued in the next room. Knowing them both, I was not surprised they disagreed. Still flustered, the scholar said to me, “He tried to tell me that Paul was not a pastor.” Without getting into technical titles, I would simply observe that Paul manifested the heart of a pastor. He planted churches and loved the people who belonged to them.
We hear it here. What stands out to you in these chapters? It may be because this week is Thanksgiving. Perhaps it is because we had such a sweet Sunday morning last weekend. Paul’s relationship with the Thessalonians leaps off the page. Paul thanks God for them, prays for them and remembers their faith hope and love. He cares so much for them and wants to see them in person. As he said on another occasion to the Philippians (4:1), the believers in Thessalonica are his hope, joy, and crown. They are his boast, his glory and his joy.
Think of it this way: Paul, like the rest of us will stand before God some day to give an account. What will he say on that day? “Look at my letters which helped so many Christians for two thousand years.” No. Paul will say, “Look at my people. The new believers and churches they formed are my greatest hope, joy, crown, and glory.” Amazing. Paul cared so deeply for the people. So do I. I have been the leader of churches that grew dynamically for long seasons of time. God has blessed me to get to study and learn from some of the greatest scholars in the world. I have been inexplicably allowed to preach in large coliseums and venues to evangelism conferences and conventions. But when I think of the last 41+ years as a pastor, what I see are the faces of thousands of people, one by one. I think Paul was a pastor to the core of his being. I am so glad I get to be a pastor. After Jesus and my family, it is the greatest joy of my life. Looking and listening Sunday morning, I remembered again how much I love the people who are here. I am so grateful.
