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"FOR
WHAT IS OUR HOPE, OR JOY, OR CROWN OF REJOICING?"
1 Thessalonians 2.19
by
Laura Elliott
The Book of 1 Thessalonians, from Paul, Silus, and Timothy to
the church
in Thessalonica shows the tremendous amount of love these men
had for the
souls they had led to Christ. The letter displays the heart of a
true
missionary and soul-winner. As the men told the Thessalonians
how they
longed to see them again, they asked, "For what is our
hope, or joy, or
crown of rejoicing?" (2.19). They then promptly answered
the question in
verse 20: "For you are our glory and joy." These men
had their highest joy
in knowing they had done the will of the Lord and actively led
souls to
Christ! They found their "crown of rejoicing" in soul
winning!
The
Book of 1 Thessalonians repeatedly shows the love of these
missionaries to the souls they had won. They had labored night
and day to
preach the gospel of God when they were in Thessalonica (2.9),
and they then
had the privilege of seeing their tender-hearted listeners
respond to the
gospel message (2.13). They had shown fatherly love by
exhortation and
comfort (2.11), and they had even seen these young Christians
mature to the
point of suffering for the faith themselves (2.14)! The
missionaries said
they would have given their own souls (2.6) for the salvation of
those they
had taught. They now gave thanks for the faithfulness of the new
converts
(1.2) and earnestly desired for them to stand blameless in the
day of Christ
(3.13). Brotherly love bound the missionaries to the
Thessalonians so that
they could truly say they had been taken from them "for a
short time in
presence, not in heart" (2.17).
Christians
who will devote themselves to soul winning can have this same
joy today! Psalm 126.5-6 promises that "They that sow in
tears shall reap in
joy" and that "He that goeth forth and weepeth,
bearing precious seed, shall
doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves [with
him]."
Christians could have no greater joy than to involve themselves
in the
greatest work, the Lord's work. They can rejoice in evangelism
because there
they gather "fruit unto life eternal" and they
"may rejoice together" with
those others who labor with them (John 4.36). They can rejoice
when they see
a person respond to the gospel (Acts 15.3) because a soul has
been saved and
the family of God has a new brother or sister. Christians can
joy simply in
knowing they have obeyed the Great Commission given by the Lord
or in
knowing they have brought spiritual peace to someone else's
life. The
diligent soul-winner receives unspeakable joy in his work!
Soul-winners
can rejoice when they see someone they have taught involved
in spiritually great works. John wrote that he had "no
greater joy than to
hear that my children walk in truth" (3 John 1.4). Paul
said he would
rejoice to know that the Philippians remained faithful to the
word of life
(Philippians 2.16). What kind of joy does a Bible class teacher
feel when
she sees her students involved in Bible studies with the lost?
What kind of
joy do parents feel when they hear their son serve on the Lord's
table or
preach the gospel for the first time? Christians will feel the
same joy when
those they have taught go out and teach others, true to the
spirit of 2
Timothy 2.2. How great the joy of a soul-winner who sees young
new
Christians working for Christ!
The
hope, the joy, and the crown of rejoicing of all faithful
Christians
ought to be the souls they have led to Christ. The height of
happiness on
this side of time only comes in active involvement in the Lord's
work; the
soul-winner has a joy great than any other man's.
This
article is copyrighted by the author. All Rights Reserved. No
part of this article may be reprinted without permission of the
author. ©Copyright 2002
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