Bible Passage: “They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.” (1 Thessalonians 1:9b-10 NIV)
Scripture Reading: 1 Thessalonians 1:4-10
Triads do seem to have some cache. Two things are just a pair, but three is a set, a collection, a run. Three wishes. “Third time’s the charm.” Three strikes. Leaves of three, let it be (the best advice in the whole list).
Paul has his favorite triad, as we discussed yesterday, the three that remain even when all others cease: faith, hope, and love. Paul suggests that those nouns drive some action.
Perhaps it’s Paul’s inspired literary tick, but he seems to like triads. Just after the triad of nouns, he crafts a triad of verbs for the Thessalonians, and these verbs offer men a blueprint, a map, a call to action to follow Jesus:
Turn, serve, wait.
Men are good at that middle one. Service implies action, work, accomplishment. We get something to show for the time and effort we put in. A tangible difference. A job (hopefully) well done.
In Paul’s list, however, the last two are utterly dependent on the first. Without the turn, service is given to the proper place. Without the turn, we are waiting for something that will not come, at least for us.
The turn is the hinge. It’s the place where direction changes. It is repentance. Turning requires admitting that we are wrong. That’s what we have done, and the direction we are heading is not just a mistake, but bad, even detrimental. Through the conviction of the Spirit, we can see this and make the saving turn. I’m wrong. I’ve been doing wrong. I’m sorry. I need you. That turn can be the hardest, and best, move a man can make.
Have you made it?
If you have, you’re on to the next two verbs: serve and wait.
Turning toward God brings with it service to Him. Taking the skills and abilities, the funds and resources, the time and assets to join Him in the work of spreading the Gospel.
And while we work, we wait. We wait for Jesus to return. To once again come to His Creation, this time in the final act of restoration. We wait for the One who promised us life, the One we have turned to, the One we serve.
Prayer: God, I need to turn to You. Every day I need to turn to You. Thank You that You are ready and waiting for me to turn and that when I do, You have a role for me to play, and work for me to do. Amen
Reflection: Have you turned to God? If not, what’s stopping you? If so, are you serving and faithfully waiting?
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