memorable work

1 Thessalonians 1:3: “We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.”

One of the hard things about an obedient life is that it’s not about what I do so much as why and how I do it. There are a lot of hard workers out there who do amazing things for reasons that have nothing to do with Jesus. It would be easy for me to be one of them.

Paul, writing his first letter to the church in Thessalonica, praises them – in fact, remembers them before God – for work that was produced by faith, and labor that was prompted by love. On top of that, this church was able to endure a time of suffering, referred to in following verses, because of their hope in Jesus.

Work isn’t enough, it has to be work produced by faith. What does that look like? Maybe work that seems beyond my ability to do on my own, like trying to stop human trafficking or helping a friend beat addiction. Or introducing a blasphemous soul to Jesus.

Labor isn’t enough, it has to be labor prompted by love. My reason for the effort I put in has to be other people – wanting the best for others is what love is all about, right? Kingdom work will always be done to benefit others and not myself.

All of this becomes possible because of the hope I have in Jesus. Jesus is Lord! My God reigns! That’s the basis of my ability to endure whatever the day throws at me, whatever obstacles come up as I pursue my faith-produced, love-prompted work for Jesus.

This verse seems to me to be a call to look for that need that I’m not certain I can fill, but I know God wants filled. My passion for Jesus and compassion for his image-bearers should be what motivate me, not whatever time I think I have available, or whether I think I have the right skills. I should expect it to be hard – I wouldn’t need endurance otherwise – but it will produce something worth remembering before God himself.

To do something worth remembering before God himself – work so memorable that people don’t just tell each other, but praise God – is a staggering, sobering goal. Do I have enough faith?