More and More
“Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, 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 outsiders and be dependent on no one.” — 1 Thessalonians, 4:9-12, ESV
In Bible college, I took a Biblical Studies class, and our teacher challenged us at the beginning of the semester to memorize all the scriptures he had listed in the syllabus. If we did, we would get to skip the final exam. My type A, goal-oriented ears perked up and took note. Challenge accepted. I made sure to memorize each of those Scriptures as the semester wore on, keeping my eyes on not just the prize of skipping a test but the accomplishment of a goal attained. Near the end of the semester, the day came, and I marched into class, sat at the wooden classroom desk with my pencil ready, and dutifully wrote all those Scriptures down. I indeed got to skip the final exam, but I have a hunch all these years later that my professor knew something I didn’t recognize at the time. The process of hiding Scripture in my heart was much more valuable than me answering some questions correctly on a final exam. One was a process that would continue working in me for years to come. Rather than focus on a pass/fail grade on a test that I would likely forget all the answers to within a few weeks, he shifted the focus to something deeper, to an ongoing work in me.
If the Thessalonian church had been given a grade in the Bible college class “Brotherly Love 101,” they would likely have gotten an A, maybe even an A+. They were doing well in loving one another, as Paul has commended them throughout his letter. And yet, a grade wasn’t the point. Their faith, like ours, wasn’t a pass/fail. It was a process. Were they loving well, or was there room for growth? Yes and yes. The Lord had begun a good work in them and had been leading them into greater love for one another. Paul gave God praise and honor for this. Yet God’s work in them wasn’t done. His work in them was a deep inner work of sanctification that would continue their entire lives. “Yes, you are loving one another,” Paul says to them, “but do this more and more!”
In our faith walk, I think we often try to give ourselves a grade. Do I get an A? Am I passing? Checking off all the boxes? Yet that is not the way the Lord looks at His work in our lives. Our faith walk is not a pass/fail. It’s a pilgrimage, a journey in sanctification, a process of becoming more and more like Jesus until we see Him face to face. Sanctification is a lifelong journey. How we live is either a daily surrender or a resistance to His sanctifying work in us. In 2 Peter 1, Peter writes that “if you possess these qualities [faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, love} in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of Jesus.” As John Piper said, “God is already at work, and He will go on working.” In increasing measure. More and more.
The Spirit teaches us how to live and follow Christ’s example. Paul writes, “You yourselves have been taught by God to love one another.” How does He teach us? Through His Word. Earlier in 1 Thessalonians 2:13, Paul says, “And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.” As John Piper said, “God-taught not apart from the Word, but through the Word.” In our own lives, as we follow Jesus and surrender to His sanctifying work in us, we have His Word to give us teaching and power. His Word is at work in us. May we be filled with gratitude that the inspired Word of God is alive, it is working today, and it leads us in our daily decisions of obedience and faithfulness!
The good work you have been doing, friend—keep on, in increasing measure. It is the Lord working in you, and He will bring it to completion. The person you have been loving and serving, the sin you have repented of, the temptation you’ve been resisting, the work you’ve been doing faithfully. God is doing this work in you, and He has an endless supply of love and mercy and power for you. Do this more and more.
Jesus, thank you for the work you have done in our lives and the work you are doing. Thank you for saving us and bringing us near to you, and thank you that you continue to sanctify us and make us more and more like you throughout our lives. Help us to surrender to you and to the process that you are working in us. You know our hearts, and you are doing a deeper work than a pass/fail or a checklist that we can attain. You are changing our character, giving us the mind of Christ, and renewing us day by day. Thank you for the great love you have for us that we could never earn but receive and praise you for. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
