Marks of a Changed Life 1 Th. 1:8-10
As I read this paragraph I see a true example of what God's word can do in a person's life. Paul has already praised them for being examples to others but he continues his praises. This time though the praise isn't coming from him, but rather people all around the world who are hearing how the lives of this group of people have been radically changed because they have chosen to follow the message of the Gospel. True transformation had taken place and people all over were not only hearing about it but were telling others about the miraculous change! That's such an awesome testimony to have! They way Paul described it was that God's word was ringing out to people everywhere! It was loud and clear for everyone to hear! He even said that they didn't need to tell others about the change because they already knew and they kept talking about it! How awesome is that?!? These people were totally sold out to the Gospel and had done a complete 180! They went from worshiping idols to worshiping the one, true God! Salvation is a great experience but true life change is where salvation really shows it's saving power!
To me there is nothing more amazing then when a person accepts Christ and their life begins to radically change. It always brings great joy to my heart to see someone's life transformed because of their faith in Christ. And really, in my opinion, that is when salvation really shows it's great power. Once a person comes into a relationship with Christ then they are a new person (2 Cor. 5:17) and they should live that way. While I believe that any person can come into a saving relationship with Christ and it is freely given to anyone who will believe (Eph. 2:8-9; 1 Tim. 2:3-4; Heb. 11) and that a person can be saved and not produce any fruit (Mk. 4:1-20), I don't believe that our faith should end at the moment of our salvation. Our salvation experience with Jesus Christ should cause us to live differently, motivate us to do good, and challenge us to let go of the things that will get in our way (Matt. 5:16; Eph. 2:10; Heb. 12:1-2). Our faith should be perpetuated and involved in our everyday lives (Col. 2:6).
This is how the Thessalonians lived, even so much so that they continued to look for the day that Christ would return. We may not be there yet (looking for Christ return) because it may never even cross our minds, but we should be striving and developing our faith so that one day we can truly say "We are looking forward to the day Jesus returns." Let it be spoken of us that we have allowed the Gospel to change our lives and that we will continue to press towards the mark of God's calling.
Created over 3 years ago
