LOVED, CALLED, AND CHOSEN

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as first fruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Thessalonians 2:13-14

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Every day is an opportunity to give thanks to God and we should. For in spite of how life can bring us into difficulties, ever tempering our periods of joy, we still have reason to carry on a perpetuating attitude for gratitude and as we look at our two verses for today from the second chapter of 2 Thessalonians, we see why. Look again at Paul’s words here:

But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as first fruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Vv.13-14

Here we find Paul telling his Thessalonian brothers and sisters in Christ why he and his fellow missionaries should thank God and in doing so, encourages his readers to consider being thankful for these same reasons:

First, they were loved by the Lord.         

We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord.

This is so simple but we should never lose sight of just how much our God loves us. I think we probably take this for granted more than we should.

This love of God is no ordinary, human generated kind of love, a love that is often flawed and inconsistent in its application. Rather, the affection from the Lord is perfect and holy and eternal. No one will ever love us the same as God and for that, we should be grateful.

The second thing we should give thanks for in regard to what God does for us is celebrate that we are chosen

God chose you as first fruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.

No one compelled God to save us or anyone else. Rather, He did so because of His amazing grace, mercy, forgiveness, and aforementioned perfect love. Our Savior Jesus said it this way:

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

God loves all those who are obedient to Him and graciously receive His offer of salvation through belief in Jesus, His Son. Those who take Him up on this everlasting gift receive the Holy Spirit and become His children, His first fruits that are cherished and deeply valued. The scriptures tell us this in the eighth chapter of Romans:

For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by Him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory. Vv.14-17

God chose to not only love us but to save us through “the sanctifying work of the Spirit” and our “belief in the truth”, His truth. We need to praise Him and show appreciation every day for the hope that this brings.

Finally, Paul reminds the Thessalonian believers (and us) that they were called by God for amazing purposes.

He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We are chosen to be saved out of love through the Gospel and through this, we realize this calling we have from Jesus, the One who saved us:

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Matthew 28:18-20

Through the all encompassing authority given to Him by God, Jesus commands those who are saved to go and help others find their salvation. In other words, all Christians get the privilege and honor to intentionally help others know that they too are loved, chosen, and called by the God of all creation. We should give thanks that we get to participate in God’s redemptive work in such an incredible, personal way even though we are sinners.

Friends, this is our life work in this earthly existence, to bring the Gospel to everyone we meet so that they might find their way to be saved. It’s the best work we could ever get to do and we should enter each day with this simple prayer:

Dear Lord, You have blessed me with this new chance to live and love and learn as I serve those You place in my path. I offer myself to You as a living sacrifice and ask that You use me in whatever way You see fit to help others know about Your offering of salvation through Jesus so that Your kingdom here on earth might grow. I pray this with my fullest gratitude for the opportunities to come in Your precious and holy name.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.