Children of The Light

Meditations on 1 Thessalonians

June 24, 2021

Children of The Light

Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when he returns, we can live with him forever.

1 Thessalonians 5:10

1 Thessalonians     5          1-11

Paul, in verse 8, ends the letter where he began by affirming faith, hope and love. To make his point, he uses the metaphor of the armor of God which he will expand ten years later in chapter 6 of his letter to the Ephesians. The NLT uses the word ‘confidence’ of our salvation where other translations use the word ‘hope’ of our salvation. Do you see the connection? The morning I wrote this meditation, I woke up hoping Florida State University would win the Women’s College World Series that afternoon. But since they lost their game the previous night, my hope wasn’t a feeling of assurance. (They didn’t win the series, but had a great season! I’m proud to be a Seminole!)

However, Christian hope is having assurance, having confidence in the outcome; that is why those two words, hope and confidence, can be used interchangeably. The confident hope we have in Christ makes it possible for us to live as children of the light and of the day. (v.5) Because we are children of the light, we are protected by the armor of faith and love, and we wear as our helmet the confidence of our salvation. (v. 8)

My Takeaway: Today’s passage is a calling again to live holy lives with a patient trust in God. We do this by fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. (Hebrews 12:2 NIV)

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2021 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.