Meaningful Suffering Andy Nagahara
A. Meaningful suffering and meaningless suffering
1. The suffering of those who are walking toward God's kingdom (1-5)
1 Paul, Silas and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
2 Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing.
4 Therefore, among God's churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.
5 All this is evidence that God's judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering.
2. The suffering of those who turn their backs on God (6-9)
6 God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you
7 and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels.
8 He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
9 They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power
B. The reward of those who walk toward God's kingdom (10-12)
1. Be bold and patient (5-8)
10 on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.
11 With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith.
12 We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Summary
Following Jesus is not easy. Persecution and opposition will continue until the end. For those whose sole purpose in life is worldly success and self-actualization, followers of Jesus are bothersome. As followers of Jesus, we may not attain worldly wealth or acclaim, but that is not the reward that we seek. What we seek is to answer God's invitation to change according to his will. To this end, God gives us the desire to seek what is good and right and completes the work he started in us.
For Discussion
1) Why do followers of Jesus face opposition and persecution?
2) What reward does God prepare for us?