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Pastor's Blog November 3, 2022
"1 Thessalonians 5"
Last week we looked at 1 Thessalonians 5:20 and the first half of verse 21, about the need to examine prophecies as part of our preparation for the second coming of Jesus. This week we're going to reflect on what it means to hold on to what is good in 1 Thessalonians 5:21, because what links verses 20 and 21 is the phrase "but test them all."
Did you know that the first part of verse 21 does double duty in Paul's thought - that it applies to the prophecies in verse 20 AND the good things in verse 21? In its entirety, 1 Thessalonians 5:21 says, "But test them all; hold on to what is good" (NIV). The Greek of Paul's argument literally says, "Test/examine all things; cling to the good." The idea Paul seems to have in mind is that of a quest or search: when you're going through life, it's important to weigh and evaluate ideas and experiences for their potential to improve your life. If you find "the bad," discard it from your life. If you encounter "the good," keep all of it and incorporate it into your life. Not everything we like is good for us, and not every difficult encounter is filled with only bad for us.
Friends, the best preparation for the second coming of Jesus is to be open to the experiences of daily living in such a way that we are able to discern what is good and bad for us, and then cling to the good with all our might.
God bless,
Pastor Nathaniel Gamble
