Today’s reading is I Thessalonians 5:1-28 and II Thessalonians 1:1-12.

II Thessalonians 1:11-12 shocked me. “To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

What? 

This passage turns the common concept up on its head. Back in Ephesians 4:1 the statement was, “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.” Ephesians 4:1 says we must walk worthy. The emphasis is placed on what we do. We have a choice. We can either walk worthily or unworthily, which will we choose. II Thessalonians 1:11-12 seemingly says the exact opposite. In this passage Paul prays that God make the Christians walk in a worthy manner. The emphasis is on God’s work. If we will walk worthy, it will because of God’s work in our lives, because of His power and grace.

What is going on here? Is this a contradiction?

No. Rather, it is merely another representation of the great balance we have to find through scripture. We must walk worthy of the calling. It is our choice to do so. However, apart from God we will not walk worthy of the calling. Sadly, different people who claim to follow Jesus will lob these verses at each other like doctrinal missiles and never see what they mean together. In fact, they will often so polarize each other that the two sides will balk at using the verses that come from the other side.

For instance, my tendency is to take the side that emphasizes my choice and free will in serving God. I’ll preach sermons all day long that encourage others to step up the plate and walk worthy. I’ll rebuke folks for not walking worthy. In a moment of rigorous honesty, I have to admit I’m leery of praying that God make someone walk worthy or encouraging others to pray that God would make them worthy of the calling and bring their every spiritual resolve to fruition. My first reaction is that removes free will. Yet, I need to be able to say what Scripture says. I need to be able to do what Paul did. I need to get comfortable with praying that God will make us worthy of His calling, that God will bring to fruition and fulfill our every resolve for good, that God will fulfill our work of faith by His power and not our own. 

On the other end of the spectrum, some folks so want to emphasize God’s power and God’s work that they balk at telling folks to buck up and walk worthy of God’s calling. They fear saying anything about our free will and our choice and our work is to take something away from God’s sovereignty. Yet, Paul told Christians to walk worthy of God’s calling. He laid responsibility on us to choose, to work, and to walk. We had better buck up and do it.

We need to see the balance this provides and we need to take up both concepts at once. This is summed up in the great statement that is increasingly becoming my mantra: “Without God, we cannot. Without us, God will not.” I cannot walk worthy of the calling without God’s power working in my life. However, God’s power will not work in my life if I am not choosing to walk worthy of His calling. If I take a position that leaves out God, I’ll fail miserably. If I take a position that leaves out me, God will not make me succeed.

Today, I pray that God will make you and me both worthy of His calling, that He will fulfill our every resolve for good, and that He will fulfill our every work of faith by His power working in our lives. And today, I choose to walk in a manner worthy of that calling. I hope you will do the same.

Keep the faith and pass the word along,

ELC

P.S. What did you get out of today’s reading?

As I’ve pointed out throughout all of this blogging on Revelation, the tough part is each chapter, each image has the same message: Sometimes it looks like God is losing, but in the end God wins. Revelation 17-18 is no exception. “Babylon” makes war on God and His people. But in the end, the harlot is judged. Her own kings turn on her and she is left desolate and naked. The angels rejoice over her demise. Her kings wail and moan in torment. She is defeated and Jesus Christ is victorious.

However, in this picture, one phrase caught my attention. 

“And the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the prostitute. They will make her desolate and naked, and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire, for God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and handing over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled.”–Revelation 17:16-17

Until the words of God are fulfilled.

While these two verses are talking about the judgment of the harlot, this judgment is still coming about through the beast and his kings. Even as the beast and his kings work against God, they are only accomplishing what God wants. That is how powerful our God is.

But what really gets me is that while the beast and his kings are working, God is still in control. The point of Revelation is not that the enemy has some power and God can’t seem to get it under control but don’t worry He is more powerful so He’ll eventually get it together and overcome. No. The point is that God is always in control. The only reason the beast and his kings accomplish anything is because God allows it. 

I certainly don’t have the wisdom or infinite insight to know exactly why God allows that to happen. I’m sure it is for our testing and our perfecting. I have no doubt it is to prepare us for whatever He has planned for us in eternity. But the comfort for me is not in knowing why God does this, it is simply in knowing that God is still in control. When the beast and his kings are making headway, it is not because of their power. It is because of God’s. Therefore, I can be assured that before the story is over, God will win.

I need to be on His side no matter what.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC