What Is Your Opinion? - 1 Thess 1:4-7

SCRIPTURE

1 Thess 1:4-7

For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.

COMMENT

Here we go again, so I will ask you, how do you understand the statement that God (he) has chosen you? If that is true, does it mean we have no role in the decision? Does God choose but we get to decide? If God chooses some to salvation, what about those not chosen by God? Are they without hope, or do they get to decide on their own. I know what I want to believe. I want to believe that all are capable of being saved. But what if I don't get what I want? Am I still willing to worship that God? These are tough questions, but questions that should be thought about if we are going to approach Scripture with the idea that maybe we are not the ultimate authority when it comes to how God should do things. So I pose questions without giving answers or opinions sometimes, because it is not what I think that matters, it is getting others to think.

It says that they received the word in much affliction. What??? No padded pews, pop music bands, funny preachers? How does that even work? (Heavy sarcastic tone should be noted.) In the midst of affliction, they were filled with joy. I wonder if that is why so many today seem so joyless? Perhaps where there is no affliction, the invitation to become a Christian is often not that Christ is the answer, it is that Christ will keep you from future affliction. Jesus is the vaccine shot that will keep you Corona free, and the cure for the common cold, and everything else for that matter. Maybe we need to read more Scripture.