Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder
When Christians are separated from one another, there is a connection that is lost. Still, another connection develops when believers are not face to face with the ones they have loved and long for. The Apostle Paul had been “orphaned” away from the church of the Thessalonians along with Silvanus and Timothy. The desire was for the mission team to return to the city they had been run out of weeks before by the politarchs.
Dispatching Timothy to return to the Roman city, located on the Via Ignatia, Paul and Silvanus were comforted by the report they received from him when they reunited at Corinth. Paul then wrote to his beloved brethren with words of thanksgiving, apologies, and expressions of desire for reunion.
The Gospel had been preached to the Thessalonians. They heard it and received it for what it was — the Word of God (1 Thess 2:13) — for them to appropriate by the grace of faith afforded to them by God. In turn, they “sounded forth” the same message that went far afield because of the trade routes easily accessing this metropolis port city of Macedonia.
The Apostle Paul was a father and a pastor to those the Holy Spirit caused to be born again of God. His burden to move on to the next town was often expedited by persecutions from both Jews and Gentiles. The dual role of pastor/missionary, no doubt, heightened his impetus to redeem the time in every place (Eph 5:16; Col 4:5).
Christian relationships are vital for the faith of Christians. The love of God has been poured out into every Christian heart by the giving of the Holy Spirit (Rom 5:5; 1 Thess 4:8). God first loves us and we then love Him (1 Jn 4:19). He commands His adopted children to love one another even as we love Him (Jn 13:34–35; 15:12, 17; Rom 12:10; 13:8; Eph 4:2; 1 Thess 3:12; 4:9).
Christian love is powerful to bolster faith in the truth of the Gospel delivered to the saints. When a faithful preacher proclaims the Gospel of grace in the Spirit, the Spirit causes the man of God to be endeared in the hearts of his hearers. The Thessalonians owed a debt of gratitude to God for Paul and the team, who spoke the truth in love to them (Eph 4:15).
Every act of Christian ministry, motivated by Christian love, produces this faith-strengthening effect. When that minister is then removed from the presence of one person, a small group, or a whole congregation, the loss suffered brings sadness. Christian love is mutual and mutually beneficial. We need one another.
A faith-building Gospel preacher increases the faith of believers by the very Word that made the saints to believe in the first place. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of Christ (Rom 10:17). In like manner, increased faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of Christ.
Christian faith is hindered by decreasing exposure to the Word of truth. Heretics twist and dilute the Word of God for this very purpose of hindering faith’s advance. Persecutions can also prevent exposure to sound doctrine for a time. God’s Word planted in the good soil of the Christian heart is remarkably resilient. The seed of the Word needs the watering of the Word, however, in order to prevent famine of the Word within.
The Thessalonians suffered much persecution from their fellow countrymen, even as the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem had suffered from their countrymen. Some were killed for their faith in our Lord Jesus Christ; but this only spurred the endurance of the godly ones living with Christ in them. In this, enemies of Christ and His church unknowingly serve to advance the kingdom of God in the present evil age and kingdom of this world.
Satan is the wicked ruler of this world, which is in open rebellion against God and His Christ. In the parable of the soils, it is Satan who is the agent opposed to the advance of the life-giving Word. This includes character assassination attempts levied against faithful stewards of the Gospel.
Persecutions drove Paul from the flocks of God in diverse places. The adversarial devil immediately sent his mercenaries to those congregations, in order to distort the Gospel and to disparage Paul and his apostleship to the new Christians. Paul knew this strategy of the enemy, which inspired his desire to reconnect with the churches in person. His absence and concern heightened his affections for the new believers.
The letters to the Thessalonians are indeed love letters from a father to his children in the faith handed down to them. Because our Lord Jesus Christ is the author and perfecter of one’s Christian faith (Heb 12:2), and the indwelling Holy Spirit is the facilitator of that faith, we are assured that the true Christian cannot lose their faith unto salvation. Still, faith can waver when it is tested.
Beautiful were the missionary feet who brought the Gospel to the Thessalonians and to you. The Word of life to you is most precious. Cherish those who labor among you with sound doctrine preached from an open Bible. If they are chased out of your church, then beware of the wolves in sheep’s clothing or mere hirelings who infiltrate without love and courage.
Never forget that the true preacher is the object of Satan’s efforts to prevent the Word of truth from reaching or strengthening you in the faith. The devil did what he could to keep Paul away from the Thessalonians; but that prompted Paul to write a couple love letters that blessed that church…and a few other churches since then.
David Norczyk
Spokane Valley, Washington
July 30, 2023
