Walking with God

St. Paul then continued to point out what we need to do, to walk and to please God, that you abound more and more. This is our goal in life: to walk with God and please him. This is the only way to an abundant life that Jesus promised.

St. Paul clearly pointed out Gods will: our sanctification. This is what God wants for us. To be sanctified is to be set aside for God. God wants a personal relationship with us. In response, we should make him our number one. There should be no other gods before him.

How do we achieve this? St. Paul wrote, abstain from sexual immorality. Sexual immorality leads us away from God. It is often the hardest thing to control. We are not called for uncleanness, but in sanctification. In a culture that preaches sexual promiscuity, this can be very difficult.

Anywhere we turn to, sexual immorality is always preached and encouraged. Yet, this is against the will of God. St. Paul said, the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as also we forewarned you and testified. Contrary to what our culture says, people will be accountable for these sins. St. Paul describes God as an avenger - seemingly to invoke an act of violence to extract justice. God cannot be mocked.

Abound More and More

St. Paul then spoke of love for one another. He exhorted the Thessalonians to abound more and more. One should not be content with our level of love for others. St. Paul seemed to expect this to grow. In fact, the word he used is, abound more and more - to overflow and still to overflow more.

He then gave us how to do this: Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life. This is the first thing he mentioned. We should not go out seeking difficulties or sufferings. We should aspire to live a quiet life. This is done by minding our own business, working with our hands. This implies that we should be responsible for our actions. This is the only way to be good examples to others and also so we will not be in need.

Grieving with Hope

St. Paul then talked of those who have died. As Christians we do grieve for the dead. However, as he said, we should not grieve like those who have no hope. Our grief is caused by the knowledge that for a while, we will not see those we love. It is overshadowed by the hope that we will see them again. This is based on the fact that Jesus died and rose again.

Jesus will come in power. He will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with Gods trumpet. His coming will be announced as the coming of a king. When he comes, the dead will rise. Those who are alive will be caught up in the clouds to meet Jesus in the air. Just as Jesus ascended to heaven, we too will rise to heaven to meet him.

This is not the rapture that some speak of. The rapture is a belief that at the end times, believers will be taken to heaven and those who do not believe will be left on earth. But if we read this carefully, this is not so. Notice this happens with the coming of Jesus. This happens at the end times. Those in Jesus will rise to heaven and that is it! Game over!