“This is positive proof of the just and right judgment of God to the end that you may be deemed deserving of His kingdom, for the sake of which you are also suffering. [It is a fair decision] since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with distress and affliction those who distress and afflict you, and to [repay for loss or harm suffered] you who are so distressed and afflicted [by granting you] relief and rest along with us [your fellow sufferers] when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in a flame of fire,” 2 Thessalonians 1:5-7 ->me: Starting 2 Thessalonians today. Written just a few months after 1 Thessalonians. Here in the first few verses he commends the saints for their growing faith and love for the people around them. Paul is saying in these 3 verses, that this living with faith and love is the proof that they will be deserving of God’s Kingdom; they do these things (demonstrate their faith and heap love on others) even in the face of persecutors and suffering. What Paul is saying is that those who persecute will receive their just punishment when Christ returns but the saints will be repaid for the loss, suffering, and persecution they experienced on earth when the Lord Jesus returns. The takeaway message for me today is to stand firm in my faith even in the face of scorning and persecution – my hope is in the One Who will come in crazy glory with all His angels in the end. Living with a love for others; a love like Christ had for us to give Himself on the tree.
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