While We’re Waiting - January 3

Read 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12

…and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsides and be dependent on no one.

Reflect

How can a quiet life be a witness to unbelievers?

We know that Jesus said He was coming back soon (Revelation 22:20). But what in the world are we supposed to be doing while we wait?

That is what the church at Thessalonica was struggling with. They were so focused on Jesus’ imminent return, they didn’t quite know what to do with themselves in the meantime. In his commentary on 1 and 2 Thessalonians, John MacArthur explained: “...the Thessalonians were allowing their excitement and enthusiasm for the second coming of Christ to overshadow the ordinary responsibilities of life. They seemed to lose their balance and composure and become so zealous and agitated concerning eschatological events that they neglected everyday duties.”

In today’s verses, we read Paul’s solution to their struggle. He prescribed a quiet life in which they minded their own business and kept their hands busy so that they could support themselves.

Now, that may seem counterintuitive. If Jesus could return tomorrow, don’t we need to tell the entire world right now? Shouldn’t we be frantically running around warning anyone and everyone? Shouldn’t we be shouting the Gospel from the rooftops? Shouldn't we quit our jobs or stay home from school because we need to go door to door proselytizing instead?

Paul said no. It’s true that Jesus could return any day now and the world is in urgent need of the Gospel. It’s also true that it is our job to share the Gospel with “outsiders,” those who don’t know the Lord.

But here’s the thing, while we are waiting for Jesus’ return, we have responsibilities that we should be quietly, faithfully, and obediently be tending to. We don’t have to be anxiously evangelizing. We don’t have to be frenzied and frantic. The world is frenzied and frantic enough! Living quiet, peaceful lives is so counter-cultural, unbelievers just might stop and take notice.

Paul also told the believers of Thessalonica to mind their own business. Honestly, we should be so busy tending our own affairs that we don’t have time to worry about the affairs of other people. God has called us to be faithfully obedient in our own spheres. We have our own jobs, our own roles in our own churches, our own marriages, our own families, and our own households to manage. If we are truly focused on faithfully and obediently working on our own affairs, we shouldn’t have time to meddle into business that isn’t our own.

Speaking of work, that is Paul’s next point—we shouldn’t be busybodies but our bodies should be busy working! Work has always been God’s intention for mankind. When he put Adam in the Garden of Eden, he put him there to take care of it. Work isn’t a consequence of the fall, it was instituted at Creation! Everyone who is physically able should be working to support themselves. The fact that Jesus is coming soon doesn’t give us an excuse to kick back and relax. We have to eat while we wait, don’t we? Well, if we don’t work, Paul said we don’t eat (2 Thessalonians 3:10)!

Paul’s main point is that the way we live our lives is a testimony to unbelievers. Loving each other the way Paul reminded us to (1 Thessalonians 4:9-10) and striving to live calm, peaceful lives sends a message to outsiders about believers. So does minding our own business and proving to be respectful and trustworthy with others’ private affairs. Having a good work ethic and refusing to be freeloaders gives us a respectable and dignified reputation in the eyes of the watching world. We haven’t been called to idleness, anxiety, and chaos while we wait for Christ. We have been called to peacefully and quietly go about the business that the Lord has given to us while we wait for His return with great expectation.

Respond

Lord, I want my life to be a testimony to You. Help me to lead a tranquil life of work and service for Your glory while I wait with anticipation for Your return. Come quickly, Lord Jesus. Amen.

Reveal

Prayerfully consider how you are living your life while you wait for Christ’s return. What does your lifestyle reveal to others about Christ?