Now Timothy has come back, and he has brought us the welcome news about your faith and love. 1 Thessalonians 3:6a, GNT

 

In days gone by, most families lived close together, often in the same town, but these days it is rather the exception than the rule. Things like a job, a perception that I will live better elsewhere and many other considerations take us away from each other, even to distant countries. My wife and I were also separated from our closest family when my daughter and our grandchildren moved to a city far from us.

 

After retirement, we decided to move house to be close to them again. I still remember how we, during those days of separation, couldn’t wait every day for the video call to see the grandchildren’s little faces. Our first question invariably was – ‘How are you?’ How happy we were when everything was well with them, and how worried and sad we were when they did not feel well.

 

In Paul’s time, news travelled very slowly and it could take a long time to reach you. Therefore, Paul sent Timothy to the church in Thessalonica to ask them – ‘How are you?’ When the answer eventually reached him, he was filled with thankfulness and joy. Listen to what he said in 1 Thessalonians 3:9: “Now we can give thanks to our God for you. We thank him for the joy we have in his presence because of you.”

 

This joy was all about two words – words that belong together – faith and love. Without faith in God, we can never truly understand what real love is all about, and without love for God and those around us, faith is impossible. It works like a fountain. Faith is the force behind the love that is bubbling up from the fountain. Without the force of faith, love will not be able to bubble up, but even the strongest force is worthless if there is no love to push forward. Faith without love is dead.

 

May I ask, “How are you today?”

 

Prayer: Dear Father, thank you for caring about me every day. Please make me someone who will also care about my fellow man. Amen