Today’s reading: Ezekiel 39; 1 Thessalonians 1-2
Paul walked around, day-by-day, with a much more accurate picture of the gospel than I do.
When Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy are describing the opposition of the Jews near the end of 1 Thessalonians 2, they call out that they, “oppose all mankind by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved…” I don’t think I ever would have thought of it this way, but it really is an accurate way to describe it.
The reality is that the world is perishing, and God has made a way for us to turn from death to eternal life in Christ. Whether people recognize their situation or not, and whether they want to submit themselves to the Lord or not, doesn’t change the reality that they are on their way to eternity apart from God, but they don’t have to be. If that’s true (and I obviously believe that it is), is it possible to be more of an enemy of humanity than by blocking that message and therefore stealing from people the opportunity to hear and respond to the message of their salvation? We think of people like Hitler as the prototypical picture of evil, in the atrocities and genocide he committed, but even committing global genocide would be less of an affront to humanity than blocking the message of the gospel from going out. I know that sounds extreme to say, and honestly feels extreme to write, but I write it because it’s true. To kill someone physically is to kill them for this life, but to deprive them of the chance to respond to the gospel is to kill them for eternity.
For me, while I understand the importance of the gospel intellectually, eternity is still a very abstract concept, especially compared how real this life is, so I would be much more likely to consider physical threats as opposition to humanity than I would a spiritual threat like condemnation, but that is a “me problem” more than anything else. When I stop and think about it, their words here in 1 Thessalonians 2 are dead on, that the single greatest opposition you could level against someone is to stop them from hearing and responding to the message of eternal life in Christ.
God, give me a more accurate picture of the gospel and of the very real need of those around me, who are perishing, to have the chance to respond to it.
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