Verse 5 seems to be highlighted in yellow as I read, so after finishing I went back and pondered this one sentence. May the Lord direct your hearts into God's love and Christ's perseverance.
My first meditation went down this line. Wow, now that’s a way to pray for others. Most of the time my prayers for other people, and myself for that matter, have to do with God meeting some need. I pray for a job or some healing or for this or for that. Paul prays that the Thessalonians will grow closer to the Lord God. As I think about the difference in Paul and my prayers, isn’t Paul’s the more basic and more important prayer? I need to chew on this some more.
My second meditation traveled the roadway of the prayer foci of this sentence… God’s love and Christ’s perseverance. How often is love the intended outcome of God’s will? When asked to sum up the law and prophets, Jesus said, ‘Love God and love others’. So a prayer to grow into God’s love seemed normal. It was the second half, Christ’s perseverance, that caught me off guard. Perseverance… ‘stick-to-it-ness’, pushing on, keeping going, despite the hardships, obstacles or persecution. Perseverance is a powerful attribute, but when coupled with Christ it becomes even more so. Jesus persevered unto the cross. He gave every ounce of His life to the mission of God, redeeming lost people. It seems this prayer is aimed so that we do the same. So that we give every once of our lives to the mission of God, spreading God’s Gospel across the face of this earth. And, yes, I have more to chew on here as well.
Lord, may these phrases and Paul’s prayer stick with me. May You direct my heart into God's love and Christ's perseverance. Amen.
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