In 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3 it says:
“We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.”
This excellent verse contains several principles that can be applied to our walk towards greater purity and wholeness. For instance:
“your work produced by faith”
The principle that I took away from this is that as I grow in my knowledge of His Word and in my sensitivity to the Spirit, I will mature in my faith. And as we spiritually mature, our thoughts and our actions will line up with the transformation that is taking place throughout our lives in our hearts and minds. We will see our new man grow and that new man will reflect Christ in all that we do.
“your labor prompted by love”
The principle that I took away from this is that my labor, or my pursuit of purity, must have a strong element of love towards holiness, purity and righteousness. In the past, I have loved my choices of indulging in sin; now I am growing in my love for Him and for His standards of holiness in my life. May we not pursue purity and holiness because we have to, but because we love and adore Him and we want our choices to reflect that adoration and love.
“your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ”
The principle that I took away from this is that there will be days when I am weak and when I do not want to press in. There are days when we probably feel that it would be easier to give up and simply cave in to the temptations that are overwhelming us. But we know that temptation is selfish short-sightedness, and so therefore we put our hope in Christ and an eternal perspective that is not solely based on how we feel. The hope we have in Christ, as well this eternal perspective, can strengthen us when we feel weak and can empower us to make choices that are holy, righteous and honoring to God.
I encourage you to reflect on these principles and ask Him how you can apply them to your personal pursuit of purity and wholeness.
End of article.