He Who Calls Us Is Faithful

The last few years for me have been filled with the ups and downs of life in messy community.  I have been disillusioned by weaknesses in the church and in leadership and have been frustrated by headlines of scandals and fallen leaders.  However, I have also encountered more grace and the embodied gospel than I ever have before within church community, and it has been life-changing and humbling.  I have been honored to walk and grow alongside other imperfect people following our faithful Lord Jesus and seeking to know Him more.  Reading the writings of Paul to the early church brings much-needed perspective and grounding as we navigate the messy waters of community.  Though the world and our culture and language are vastly different than the context Paul was writing in, the human heart is the same.  Paul’s writings in this letter speak to a people who were learning to live out their faith in ways that looked different than the culture around them, as are we.  He encourages a people who were living in community with other imperfect believers, as are we.  And he writes to a people who needed reminding of the hope we have in a Savior who has come and will return, as do we.  In the closing words of his letter, Paul writes, “He who calls you is faithful.” (1 Thess. 5:24, ESV)  The same faithful God who led Paul and the Thessalonians and the church throughout the last two millennia is the same faithful God who leads us today.  He who calls us is faithful.