Ok, this is gonna be a short one, because I want to get some sleep tonight.
As usual, I went to Breakaway tonight. I was a little bit late, but I didn't miss any of the talk. Tonight, Ben went over 1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:13. In it, Paul basically says "Hey, I really didn't want to leave yall, but I had to, and then I really wanted to come back and see you, but I couldn't. I sent Timothy; he said you're good. Now I'm happy." But Ben dove a lot deeper into it than just that, because Paul could've said that in three sentences like I just did, but instead takes 17 verses. This is where it really hit me.
First, Ben talked about how influential Paul was. He said that Paul was one of the most influential people in history, and he's right. His writings have affected people from the first century up to today. Then Ben asks how you can become like that. How does someone go about changing the world? First, it starts with a group. Read that scripture, and focus on how Paul talks about the Thessalonians in that last part of chapter 2. Then, look at what he says about himself in relation to them. Paul said he was torn from them, ripped away from them. He didn't want to leave at all. And he had been trying his hardest to come back to them since then. When he couldn't do that, he sent Timothy, staying alone in Athens, which is actually a pretty big deal if you consider that people tried to kill him just about everywhere he went. He feels this connection with them. He was so worried about them and wanted to know how they were doing and have them established and encouraged. In verse 8 of chapter 3 he says "For now we live, if you stand fast in the Lord." I've heard that quoted a lot, but I never fully understood it in context until now. He's basically saying "I can live now that I know you're doing ok and you're staying faithful to the Lord." When they're doing good, he is, when they're happy, he's happy, when they're sad, he's sad. And he longs to see them so much, because he is so in love with them, and not afraid to tell them. And that's what brings us back to our original subject of changing the world. You don't do it alone; it happens with groups. Paul always traveled in a group. He taught communities, and the communities, like the one in Thessaloníki, influenced those around them in their city, and region, etc. So what Ben was getting at was that, to change the world, to "turn the world upside down," you need a group like that. Some group that you've invested your emotions and your energy into, and you're not afraid to point out the weaknesses of (3:10), and not afraid to tell how much you miss them and love them. Then when you see Jesus, you'll stand before Him, and you'll have those people around you, and you can say that you didn't come there alone, and they will be your joy.
