Endure

We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other, so that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure,  - 2 Thessalonians 1.3,4

 In Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians he reminds them of some of the things he said in his first letter. He praised them for their growing faith and their abounding love. We also find out that they were going through persecutions and tribulations.

None of us like the sound of that. Who, after all, likes going through persecutions and tribulations?

But for some folks they do come. When I went to church yesterday the worst thing I had to worry about was how many people were going to be gone because of the holidays. I didn’t have to use a secret password to get into the meeting. Everyone knew where we met. There is a big sign out in front of the community centre where we meet. No one there was going to bother us and the Gardai (police) were not going to come in and arrest us.

But not everyone was so lucky. A lot of folks were like the Thessalonians. Christians in Iraq and Syria and places like that knew that if they tried to meet they would very likely be killed by sword or crucifixion. They knew their children could be beheaded and the women raped. They know the reality of persecutions and tribulations. 

When I talk about what we have to endure in a place like Ireland I really am being self-focused. At our worst we still have it made.

And yet these brothers and sisters in Christ endure and that endurance teaches them lessons in patience and faith that we only get a glimmer of. These folks know what it means to endure. Their endurance ought to be a great encouragement and a blessing to us. They ought to remind us that if they can endure what they do with faith and patience God can surely enable to us to endure through our struggles.

There are times when we just have to endure. Let’s not forget to pray for those who teach us how to do it.