Monday, October 3, 2011

Christian; put some pants on and get a job.

What would you do if you ‘knew’ how long you had to live? How would you live your life? Think about it, because what you believe about the future, dictates how you live today.

Harold camping. 9/11. y2k. 2012. I am Legend, and the list goes on.
Our society is obsessed with end times. We can not get enough of it. There is something about it that is mysterious and exciting. From the beginning of church history to now, there are men and women who are sure that the end is here and the world will end in their lifetime. Each one of these people have something in common; they are wrong.

The secular world is obsessed with it, so they make movies and write books.
The church people are obsessed with it, so they make charts, and billboards because they read a unclear verse out of context, they make predictions.

In the world of the 1st century Christians in Thessalonica, the same obsession is common. The Thessalonians are so obsessed to when the 2nd coming of Jesus they forget about the present they are in.

They are so are sure that the return is in their lifetimes, they quit their jobs, and start having a lot of sex out side of covenant relationship. They get trapped in the idea that the spiritual and the physical share no commonality. What they believe about the future dictates how they live in the present. The problem is they have a poor understanding of what is to come and a false understanding of what it means to be spiritual.

In the Letter to the Thessalonians, Paul addresses this mindset. He explains to them that the spiritual and physical do have a commonality, in fact they are one in the same. The Thessalonians do not work because they  assume that the physical does not matter because Jesus is coming back ASAP. They start having a ton of sex with one another, because their mindset is that it is just physical and it does not effect them spiritually. Paul radically turns this mindset upside down.

One of the most spiritual things one can do, is work.
One of the most spiritual things one can do, is love their neighbor
One of the most spiritual thing one can do, is be pure with their body.

Thessalonians is not written TO us, the people in the 21st century. It is however written FOR us. It is amazing how a book written 2000 years ago, still speaks into our culture and society today.  Jesus is coming back, that is for sure. When? Well no body knows, but that should not motivate us to drop responsibilities.

It should challenged and fuel us to live in the now, in light of who Jesus is and what he as done.

It should motivate us to love on people, like Jesus loves on us, it should encourage us to fight for purity, and embrace sanctification.

It should break down the walls of living for the future and over spiritualizing everything and encourage us to put some pants on, get a job, and be faithful to what God has given us.




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