1 Thess. 3: 6 You can imagine my relief and joy when Timothy returned to us with such good news about you, about your faith and love for us, about how you have such good memories of us and long to see us as much as we long to see you. 7 Hearing this about your faith, brothers and sisters, brought comfort to us in our stress-filled days of trouble and suffering.[1]
While Paul had been in Athens, he sent Timothy back to check on the Thessalonian church. If you remember, Paul had been forced out of Thessalonica by an angry mob. Paul was still concerned about these new believers. If the mob had been hard on him, what was it doing to the new believers?
Paul wanted to “parent” these new believers, but he couldn’t go back. So, he did the next best thing. He sent Timothy back to check on them. By the time Timothy could return to Paul, Paul had moved on to Corinth.
Athens had been discouraging and now Paul was working hard in Corinth. When Timothy returns with the good news of how the Thessalonian church continues to grow, it spurred Paul on. His work in Thessalonica hadn’t been in vain. Paul writes a letter back to the Thessalonian church that continues to encourage them, and it shares how much their good news had encouraged him.
This letter has been preserved as 1 Thessalonians in our Bibles. It gives us personal insight into the ministry of Paul and how he supported himself as he evangelized on his mission trip. It also gives us insight into the relationships that Paul had with those he preached to. The faith and love appeared to be mutual with the people and Paul.
What encourages you as you follow Jesus? How important are other believers? We see in the 1st century church that they freely shared encouragement and their love for each other.
To hear more about Paul and his time in Corinth, listen here: https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/series/mission-trip-two-radio-show/the-power-of-the-holy-spirit
[1] The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible.