This time of year always brings us back to Lane’s dad, Poppa Max. It’s been two years since he passed, and we still catch ourselves reaching for the phone to call him. If you ever met the man, you know exactly what I mean when I say he was a trumpet. Loud faith. Loud love. The kind of presence that walked into a room and you just knew Jesus was close by because Poppa Max was close by. He didn’t have to announce his faith. It announced itself.
That’s exactly the kind of testimony Paul is talking about in 1 Thessalonians 7-8. Paul tells the Thessalonians their faith had become so well known, so alive, that it had turned into a kind of loud, unmistakable sound moving through the whole region. Not a whisper. A trumpet blast that pointed everybody’s attention straight to Jesus Christ.
Paul shows us how that happened, and it’s still the blueprint today.
First, the Thessalonians paid close attention to how Paul lived, and they made a decision to live that way themselves. A faith others look up to starts with a choice. You confess Jesus Christ, and then you make the bold decision to imitate Him on purpose, every day.
Second, they were resilient. When hard times came, and they will come, they leaned on the Holy Spirit to help them push through with real joy instead of despair. Trouble is part of this life. But our peace and our hope don’t come from the trouble going away. They come from Jesus Christ, who has already overcome every bit of it.
Third, their everyday lives echoed what they believed. They walked the talk. Their changed lives were so obvious, so loud, that people couldn’t help but notice. Faith at work. Love that labored. Hope that held steady. And all of it together rang out across the region.
Paul says it plainly. The Thessalonians had become the message. What a reputation to carry. No wonder people looked up to them.
This week let’s invite the Holy Spirit’s transformational power in our lives. Let’s make the same intentional decision to walk and talk like Jesus Christ. Let’s focus our attentions on imitating and echoing the Message of Christ. People are watching. Let’s give them something worth looking up to.