Reading: Ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God. 1 Thessalonians 1:9

When the Thessalonians were turned from their idols they immediately began a life of service for God. They viewed Christ not only as their Saviour, one to save them from sin, but they viewed Him as their Lord, one to worship, love, obey, follow, and serve. 

Prior to their conversion they were devoted to their idols. Their time, thoughts, and talents were taken up with false religion. But on their conversion to Christ there was a dramatic change and they instantly began to serve the Lord. The word serve has the basic meaning of yielding obedience, thus signifying that they looked upon the Lord as their master and were willing to obey His commands. Their service was both public and persistent. They were not ashamed of Christ but were willing to sound forth the glorious news of the gospel. The Thessalonian Christians were overcome by a sense of gratitude to God. This was not merely a duty; it was their delight. They abounded in their service for Christ so much that they became examples to others.

This spirit of willing service often needs to be rekindled in the hearts and lives of God’s people. We too have been saved from idols, the idols of self and sin. We served these things in our unconverted state. Regeneration has changed that, and we have been turned from our idols unto God and have become followers of Christ. We are now servants of the Most High. This is our life’s work, to make known the mysteries of the gospel of redeeming grace. Though we ought to testify for Christ, we often fail to. The fear of man has snared many into spiritual silence and not a few Christians follow the Saviour but rarely speak of Him. We must pray that our tongues will be loosed and that from the lips of every Christian will sound forth the great news that Jesus saves!

“As long as I see anything to be done for God, life is worth having, but O, how vain and unworthy it is to live for any lower end!” David Brainerd

Taken from A Word in Season edited by Alan Cairns, 2010. Used by permission.