For now we live, if you are standing fast in the Lord.
1 Thessalonians 3:8
“Now we really live,” says some translations of 1 Thessalonians 3:8. What is Paul saying here? Was he not living to his full potential before?
As made clear in prior verses, the Church in Thessalonica was enduring serious persecution. Paul and Silas, detained by Satan from coming to them (1 Thessalonians 2:18), also were enduring difficulty.* This difficulty included but was not limited to anxiety for their friends.*
Have you ever been anxious for the well-being of someone that you know? Have you ever worried about things that you cannot control?
Paul and Silas could have worried about death coming to the Church, more persecution, or too much difficulty in their life, amongst other things. The thing that caused them the most concern was that the Church would respond to the difficulties by drawing nearer to God. Hearing that the Church in Thessalonica had done just that, Paul and Silas could “really live.”
Scholars debate the original meaning of the phrase, “for now we live.” In the context of the culture of the day, it wasn’t uncommon for friends to use metaphor and hyperbole in expressing their feelings.* For example, one may write, “I will die if I do not see you.”* This is clearly not literal. Similarly, Paul and Silas did not come to a fuller life, but their life was freed of the anxiety that they had for the spiritual well-being of their loved ones.*
There is much that we cannot control in this life, and we will always have the opportunity to worry about something. We could worry about loss, death, persecution, and more. Perhaps, like with Paul and Silas, the thing that matters most is spiritual security. To what lengths would you go to be sure that your friends are spiritually safe? Do we check on one another to see if we are following Jesus even in the hardest times?
Today, take a step.
Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to check on a friend’s relationship with God. Perhaps today God would have you release anxiety about things that you cannot control. Maybe today God would have you increase your care for the lost and tempted around you.
Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.
Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus.
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*Holmes, M. (1998). 1 and 2 Thessalonians (pp. 99–101). Zondervan Publishing House.
Shogren, G. S. (2012). 1 & 2 Thessalonians (p. 141). Zondervan.
Green, G. L. (2002). The letters to the Thessalonians (pp. 170–171). W.B. Eerdmans Pub.; Apollos.
Kim, S., & Bruce, F. F. (2023). 1 & 2 Thessalonians (D. B. Capes, Ed.; Second Edition, Vol. 45, pp. 289–290). Zondervan Academic.
Morris, L. (1984). 1 and 2 Thessalonians: An introduction and commentary (Vol. 13, p. 73). InterVarsity Press.
Beale, G. K. (2003). 1–2 Thessalonians (pp. 104–106). InterVarsity Press.
Weima, J. A. D. (2014). Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: 1–2 Thessalonians (R. W. Yarbrough & R. H. Stein, Eds.; pp. 223–225). Baker Academic.