Dear Friends,
We hope this week's devotional will encourage you in your spiritual walk. We give thanks to Rev. Dr Joseph Wood, Dean of Students and Senior Lecturer in Theology and Church History, for writing this devotional.
You are welcome to share this and include it in your church newsletters if you wish; we just ask that you please give credit to NTC and the author. Thank you!
1 Thessalonians 2:9-13 (CEB)
9 You remember, brothers and sisters, our efforts and hard work. We preached God’s good news to you, while we worked night and day so we wouldn’t be a burden on any of you. 10 You and God are witnesses of how holy, just, and blameless we were toward you believers. 11 Likewise, you know how we treated each of you like a father treats his own children. 12 We appealed to you, encouraged you, and pleaded with you to live lives worthy of the God who is calling you into his own kingdom and glory. 13 We also thank God constantly for this: when you accepted God’s word that you heard from us, you welcomed it for what it truly is. Instead of accepting it as a human message, you accepted it as God’s message, and it continues to work in you who are believers.
Devotional Thought
‘Ministry is hard work.’ This was the conclusion to a conversation I had yesterday with some young people. We were discussing what it means to be leaders in the church and how it is not always an easy occupation. There are times when ministry is, quite simply, hard work.
In this passage from Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, we see this phrase. Paul is reminding the church of the efforts he and his co-labourers put into planting and nurturing this group of disciples in Thessalonica. To make the point, he uses the metaphor of parents and children. If any of you reading this is a parent, you know that parenting can be ‘hard work’! But just like parenting, Paul recognizes that ministry is more than hard work; it is also filled with times of joy and pride. ‘We thank God constantly for you’, Paul says, ‘you accepted the message of God’s word…and it continues to work in you who are believers’.
‘Ministry is hard work.’ This is a fact. But Paul reminds us in this passage that our efforts in ministry, no matter what that looks like for you, will bear fruit. The call from this passage is to continue being faithful to the gospel message of God’s love for all people.
Prayer
Almighty, and ever-loving God. We give you thanks this day for the opportunities we have to minister to others. You have called us to share the love of Christ to all people and you equip us by the power of the Spirit to do this work. At times when it seems too hard or overwhelming, we pray for rest, joy, and strength to continue the work You have given us. As we seek to draw others to You, give us glimpses of Your kingdom and glory. Amen.
Rev. Joseph Wood, PhD
Dean of Students and Senior Lecturer in Theology and Church History