September 2, 2010
Praying with Jesus
The Faithful Lord Jesus Today
“Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.”
1 Thessalonians 5:24
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I love so many things about Jesus. He provides me with love every moment of my life, friendship, power for living, assurance, strength, and compassion. I absolutely rely upon Him to take care of my life, because I so frequently mess it up. As I grow older, I know that without Jesus controlling my life, sin abounds. I also know something else. Jesus wants to bring about all the commands He has promised me in 1 Thessalonians 5, because He has has called me, and He will keep me secure in His calling for eternity. Jesus Christ the Faithful holds me in His calling every day. He will do it.
In 1 Thessalonians 5:24, Jesus describes Himself as “Faithful,” and then shortly closes the epistle. This term faithful (“πιστὸς“) means trustworthy, reliable, sure, true, and unfailing. All of those qualities always apply to Jesus, but in this context they relate to God who “calls” (“καλῶν“). Paul emphasizes here that the call of God for you stands as a completed act. He has called us and that settles it. In 1 Thessalonians 2:12, Paul wrote: “so that you would walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.” In this latter verse, God emphasizes the continuous aspects of His calling, and relates it our daily, ongoing walk with Christ.
Paul also teaches that Jesus will do it. Because of Jesus being always faithful, He will bring your call to pass. Again, Jesus teaches me here that my entire salvation and sanctification rest squarely upon His shoulders. I should never get confused about the activity of God in my life. On an eternal scale, He called me to salvation (Romans 8:28-30) and adoption into His family (Galatians 4:5).
Paul leaves the Thessalonians with all the focus upon the Lord Jesus Christ. As Paul shines the spotlight of revelation upon Jesus, faithfulness radiates from Jesus. We should always see Jesus shining in faithfulness, always keeping His word, always making our lives wonderful in Him.
So, we learn some more about building strong friendships in Christ.
● Strong bonds of friendship form when we see Jesus faithfully working our lives, and the lives of our friends in Christ, called by His grace.
● Strong bonds of friendship grow when we have faith in the faithfulness of Christ Jesus, shining in our lives through the work He performs, and the love He provides every day.
● We harm our bonds of friendship when we doubt the faithfulness of Christ in our lives, or allow our friends to forget His faithfulness.
Application for Today
Today, I want the faithfulness of Jesus to be on my mind, in my heart, and on my lips. My friends in Christ need to know about His faithfulness to me today. Will you dwell upon the faithful Lord Jesus today?
