SET THE EXAMPLE

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In Christ, Mark

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

For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you to imitate.

2 Thessalonians 3:7-9

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

How do you know how to live as a Christian?

Hopefully, believers would say that the answers are found in the four Gospels of the Bible which form the introduction to the New Testament. For within these Gospels, we read about how Jesus lived His life.

Indeed, to be a Christian is to be Christ-like in the way we live the life God has blessed us with. We are to follow His example and model what we do after Him, guided by the constant counsel and leading of the Holy Spirit. When Jesus disciples do this, something beautiful happens.

They become Christian role models, setting the right example for others to follow.

This progression isn‘t some 21st century epiphany within the Christianity lifestyle. Rather, it has existed since Jesus ascended to Heaven to sit at His Father’s right hand and His disciples took over His work after being empowered by the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2). As we continue to look at the words of the Apostle Paul from the third chapter of his second letter to the church in Thessalonica, we find him talking about the importance of Christian example setting:

For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you to imitate. Vv. 7-9

In obedience to the Jesus’ Great Commission, Paul and his fellow missionaries were going wherever God sent them to share the Gospel with all people, whether Jew or Gentile. Through the new covenant, the instigator of the Gospel message, salvation was now open to anyone who would simply place their belief in Jesus as Savior, a blessing offered to them out of God’s love (John 3:16).

This Gospel work was what led to the making of Christian disciples in Thessalonica who in turn formed the backbone of the church there. They had learned about Jesus from Paul and the others who then commanded their new Thessalonian brothers and sisters to follow their example and carry on sharing and spreading the Gospel after they departed and moved onto the next place God would lead them to.

The scriptures tell us that the example set by Paul and his fellow workers for the cause of Christ included hard “laboring and toiling” during “night and day”. They made sure they did this while not being a “burden”, even paying for whatever food they ate during their time of ministry. The work of the Gospel is always to be proactive and as we look at the accounts of Paul’s missionary journeys within the Book of Acts, we see where he was never idle but always engaged with others for the cause of Christ.

This is what was expected from the Thessalonian Christians and it’s what is expected of Jesus believers today. All disciples of Jesus are to labor hard for their Savior because as He proclaimed, “The harvest is plenty but the workers are few” (Matthew 9:37). The Apostle Paul did, setting an example for us to follow so we too can model Jesus in our own lives and be obedient to His call to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18-20). When we do this, we too then can set an example for other Christians, new or experienced, to follow.

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.