2 Thessalonians 2:13a (NKJV)
“But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord,”
We’re a little conflicted on the presence of love sometimes aren’t we? The simplest of interactions gone wrong is seen more as hatred than love. Love should always be reflected by nice words, actions or things. Love always protects us from trouble, pain, or difficulty. Love clears the path to make it easy. Love fixes everything.
That’s not always how it works is it? Even good and loving parents allow their kids to fail sometimes because the process of failing is how the child learns and gains strength. Overcoming difficulties in life is where we mature. Working through hard times is sometimes what life is all about.
Then there are the unthinkable things that come into our lives, things where we struggle to say it all works out for good (Romans 8:28). I recently heard someone speak who has been helping holocaust survivors in Israel for 37 years and she says they are not bitter or hateful. They are joyful and happy because they know they are loved by God. I am amazed at that. They, above most, have every right to question God’s love for them. Yet they are happy to live out the life God has given them despite horrific circumstances because God loves them.
Like those survivors, the church at Thessalonica was in the middle of persecution. Paul even brags to other churches about the Thessalonian’s faith in the middle of all they are enduring. (2 Thessalonians 1:4). So while we sometimes question whether God loves us because of the difficulties we face, we should not. God’s love for us is never contingent on how hard or easy our life is. The presence of God’s love for us is the key that allows us to walk through those hard times in faith and confidence. His love is what gets us through. Believe it. We really are “beloved” by the Lord, not unloved.
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