A Word from 1 Thessalonians 5

Depending on your age and the churches in which you grew up, you might remember “A Thief in the Night”—a movie about the Second Coming that was released in the early 1970’s and that was basically designed to “scare the heck” out of people, in the hope that it would “scare a little heaven” into them as well.

And the title of that movie—not to mention its fearful premise—comes from today’s word in 1 Thessalonians 5: “Now, brothers and sisters…you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, ‘Peace and safety,’ destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.” (5:1-3; emphasis added)

Now, the great irony is that Paul didn’t say that to scare people. Because if you keep reading, you’ll discover that this is really a passage about assurance! “But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief,” Paul says. “You are all children of the light and children of the day…But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” (5:4-11)

You see, I’m convinced that real goal of the Bible’s “End Times” teaching isn’t to make us live in fear, frantically trying to figure out when the Lord will come back. No, the goal, I think, is to help us live in confidence! We know that whenever Jesus returns, we belong to Him and will be with Him.

And so today, let’s live for Him! So that through us others will come to realize that, in Christ, they have nothing to fear. Amen.