That ye would walk worthy of God, Who hath called you unto His kingdom and glory. 1 Thessalonians 2:12
One of my sisters posted a link on Facebook to an article that condemns religion as being responsible for most if not all of the hatred, animosity, intolerance, and atrocities in the world. It is easy to agree with that statement. Rivers of blood have flowed as members of one religion or another have tried to impose their ideas on others, or have tried to eradicate anyone who disagreed with them. It has been that way ever since Cain’s religion caused him to retaliate against his brother. It has been that way down through the thousands of years of human history, with religion being the sparkplug that has fired the worst acts of inhumanity. But the article also lumped Christians in with all of the others who the writer condemned. The man obvious mistook members of the so-called Christian religion with those who the Bible would identify as Christians. There is no such thing as a Christian religion taught in the Scriptures. But there are Christians identified in the Scriptures. Those who practice the Christian religion are just as capable (and just as guilty) of hatred, animosity, intolerance and atrocities as those who practice any other religion. True Christians are the only ones living as the Scriptures teach.
In our text, Paul exhorts the Christians in Thessalonika to live worthy of God. What does that mean? If we examine what it means to be a Christian, we turn to Romans 10:9 to find the two identifying features of a Christian. Firstly, a Christian is one who has trusted Jesus Christ as Saviour. Secondly, a Christian is one who has accepted Jesus Christ as Lord. Accepting Jesus Christ as Lord means that we submit to His authority and obey Him in all things. To walk worthy of God is to walk as the Lord Jesus walked. It is to walk in honesty, kindness, and friendliness. It is to never abuse others but to take abuse ourselves if necessary for the cause of our Lord. It is to share what our Lord has done for us in a loving and compassionate way. It is to be the best representatives that we can be of all that our Lord is.
If we walk worthy of God, we may well find ourselves at odds with those around us who want us to walk as the children of disobedience. Walking worthy of God will not gain us favour, or reward, or stature in this world. But that is not what God has called us to. Our text declares that He has called us unto His kingdom and His glory. Our service for our Lord and our submission to His authority is with eternity in view. If our service and submission to our Lord costs us anything here, it will be more than amply repaid when we stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ. There is a commendation for that: ‘Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord (Matthew 25:21).
We can aspire to nothing greater than to walk worthy of our Lord. And His grace will enable us to do so. – Jim MacIntosh