Make Time

1 Thessalonians 1:2-3

“We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.”

1 Thessalonians 2: 19-20

“For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? For you are our glory and joy.”

Relationships are hard. In a world where anything and everything can be accessed in a matter of seconds, I think it is safe to say, we struggle with the time required to maintain relationships. I mean, think about it.  We set timers for our morning coffee because we just don't have the “time” to wait for it to brew. We complain if a drive thru takes more than three minutes total, because we simply believe we don’t have the “time” to allow real food to cook properly. The next-day shipping option for Amazon Prime was starting to seem a little ridiculous, so now, our groceries, and nearly any product we can think of, can be delivered in two hours from the time we place the order, with Amazon Prime Now. We just don’t have time. 

The first two chapters of 1 Thessalonians are bookended by these two sets of verses.  Paul, Silas and Timothy begin by explaining how thankful they are that the Thessalonians were fellow Christ followers.  They say they are “always” giving thanks for them, and they are “constantly” mentioning them in their prayers. Those words imply time. I mean, it is a good assumption that Paul, Silas and Timothy spent a decent amount of time praying for their friends in Thessalonica.

These relationships were deeply rooted in the gospel and how it was making them more and more like Christ.  Paul, Silas and Timothy had shared the good news of Christ with the Thessalonians, and spent time there creating deep relationships.  They had discipled them, walked with them, and taught them through word and action. They were proud of them for sticking to their faith and were in a sense telling their friends “we are cheering you on!” and “you can do it, keep going!”.  

Could you honestly begin a letter like this to anyone? Do you pray for anyone this much? Your husband? Your wife? Your children? Your roommate, your boss, your best friend of 20 years, your mom, your uncle who is sick with cancer? ANYONE? My guess is your answer is, no. My answer would be, no. 

Reading this, I can’t help but feel like Paul, Silas and Timothy knew that Jesus had spent a large amount of time discipling others and praying for them. And, being that they wanted to become more and more like Jesus, they intentionally modeled their lives after his. They were bold in sharing their faith and they were intentional about being deep, real, and authentic with other believers, for the sake of sanctification.  They knew there was nothing more important than using their time wisely for the work of the Lord. 

Friends, being busy is not a status symbol. Rather, I would argue it is a tactic from the enemy to keep the gospel from advancing and taking root. Our time here is short and it will seem even shorter if we continue to allow busyness to suck up our days. We are instructed to make disciples of all nations, baptize them, and teach them to obey all that Jesus commanded. THAT. TAKES. TIME.  But please let me encourage you when I tell you that you don’t need to go out looking for new friends that you can raise up in the ways of the Lord. Start with those around you and move on from there as God leads you.  

Practically this could look like: praying for your spouse, and having spiritual conversations with them, often. Viewing your children as disciples.  Be intentional about teaching them how you live as a Christ follower in the world. Pray for your children. Don’t just pray WITH your children (although that is wonderful) but pray FOR them.  That means, you actually need to have personal time in prayer.  If you are single, pick one or two people that you can live life alongside, and ask them the hard questions.  Offer your own self by being vulnerable and sharing your struggles. Speak to each other often (preferably face to face, but a phone call works too). Don’t even try and disciple someone via text message! 

Church, it will be worth it.  I know you don’t have time. I don’t either. Make time. We have been saved from much, and because of that we have much to do. Don’t lose your mission to spread the gospel in the rat race of life. Make time. If you don’t make time to pray, disciple others, be discipled, grow in your faith, hear from God, etc, then what is the point of it? That is exactly what Paul is saying as he ends chapter 2 with verses 19-20. “For what is our hope, our joy, or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming?” He is asking: what will you be excited about and proud of when Christ comes back? The response is so beautiful.  He says, “Is it not you? For you are our glory and joy”.  When life is over (and life will be over at some point) what will you consider your crown of victory? Will it be your career, or your clean house, or your perfect body, your money, your business, or your retirement account? OR, will it be looking around seeing your family members, your children, your co-workers, your neighbors and your friends spending eternity in heaven because Christians took the “time” to invest in real relationships. 

I love you all deeply, and this is something I need to work on as well.  We don’t have time, but we need to make time, before there is no more time. 

- Bridget