Sometimes the very thing we need to endure is to recall the work others have done.
We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul cannot stop thinking about the Thessalonians and their work, toil, and endurance. Their response to the Gospel compelled them to labor in the presence of the Lord and it led Paul to pray incessantly. And this is the nature of the day’s labor for believers. One good work evokes another good work and one “constantly” evokes another “constantly.” Sometimes the very thing we need to endure is to recall the work others have done.
There is an adverb in the greeting from Paul to the Thessalonians. In the Greek of Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians even difficult circumstances can bring about adialeptos (incessantly, without intermission) good work in us. In this case, Paul incessantly thinks and prays for the Thessalonians.
There are people who leave such a profound effect on you that it compels you to talk to the one who made them. Some people’s candor and work are something so noble you cannot help but to thank God and cheer them on. To remind them to weep—but not to weep like those with no hope. In Paul’s case, it was not one person but a whole church in the entire city. His remembrance and reflection about the work of these Thessalonians resulted in one implication that evoked his perpetual thanksgiving and constant prayer: they responded to the Gospel.
The Gospel reminds us that we are being conformed to the image of the Son. It also reminds us that we labor with the same tools and hands and feet as others, but with different motives and results. In many cases, we do the same thing but with a different song in our hearts. Because Paul was not there and involved with the day-to-day, he got the pleasure of knowing that the presence of the Lord is actually sufficient. He learned from this early church community a good lesson in life for leaders: that the same Spirit that hovered over the waters in the creation account is holding Gospel communities together in their work also. They worked (for each other and in the city) because they had faith (trusted) the Lord. They toiled in difficulty even if things do not work out because God’s love loved them first. They bore down under pressure because their hope was in Jesus.
And this is the nature of the day’s labor for believers. One good work evokes another good work and one “constantly” evokes another “constantly.” We work sometimes by remembering other believers’ work. The Thessalonians received the Gospel message that rang out without intermission, and they responded by working together incessantly. And while Paul may not be present to get involved with the day-to-day activities, it is not as though he was not working with them. Perhaps at three or four in the morning, you could hear him calling on the Father in heaven and mentioning the Thessalonians also.
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