Daily Scripture
1 Thessalonians 5:14-15
14 Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are disorderly. Comfort the discouraged. Help the weak. Be patient with everyone. 15 Make sure no one repays a wrong with a wrong, but always pursue the good for each other and everyone else.
Romans 12:9-10
9 Love should be shown without pretending. Hate evil, and hold on to what is good. 10 Love each other like the members of your family. Be the best at showing honor to each other.
Matthew 7:4-6
4 How can you say to your brother or sister, ‘Let me take the splinter out of your eye,’ when there’s a log in your eye? 5 You deceive yourself! First take the log out of your eye, and then you’ll see clearly to take the splinter out of your brother’s or sister’s eye. 6 Don’t give holy things to dogs, and don’t throw your pearls in front of pigs. They will stomp on the pearls, then turn around and attack you.
Reflection Questions
Paul loved the Thessalonian Christians, but he was also realistic about the ways flawed humanity shows up even in a group who honestly aim to be faithful. Scholar William Barclay observed, “Verse 14 picks out those who need special care and attention.”* He listed “those who are disorderly,” “the discouraged,” and “the weak,” adding that at times they would need to “be patient with everyone.”
- So Paul listed the “disorderly” (or “idle”), “discouraged” and “weak” as needing special care, along with “everyone” needing patience. How do you think that applies to the ways you (and your congregation) minister to people in 2021? To what contemporary issues do you and your congregation most need to apply Paul’s wisdom to your ministry life?
- Jesus used a hyperbolic image (the log in your eye) to remind his hearers that “we all have faults, and so we all need mercy. Recognizing our own failings makes us more forgiving toward others.”** How can honest self-evaluation and openness to hearing what bothers other people (Christians or others) help build relationships that strengthen both of you rather than tearing each other down?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, shape me into a person who can warn, comfort, help and be patient with others. Guide me to always pursue the good for others and for your kingdom. Amen.
* William Barclay, The Letters to the Philippians, Colossians and Thessalonians (Revised Edition). Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1975, p. 207.
** Eugene Eung-Chun Park and Joel B. Green, study note on Matthew 7:3-5 in The CEB Study Bible. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2013, p. 17 NT.
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