Deeper Reflection
SOON AFTER THE THESSALONIANS BELIEVED IN JESUS,
they “became imitators of us [the apostles] and of the Lord” in faithful
living (v.6). Paul puts “of us” before “of the Lord”, rather than the
reverse, because he, Silas and Timothy were “model copies” of Christ
by which Christ was represented and manifested. Paul’s ministry is
defined as “my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every
church”, such that he could make such a bold disciplemaking call:
“Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (1 Cor 4:16-17; 11:1). Let’s ask
ourselves: Do people in my family, my ministry and the community
inside and outside the church see Jesus in my life? The Thessalonian
young believers in no time grew in spiritual multiplication in their
walk with God and the Word of God. Note the progressive spiritual
multiplication process in the Word of God: from “our gospel came to
you” (v.5), to “you received the message” (v.6) and “the word of the Lord
rang out from you” (v.8). And the spiritual multiplication in the walk
with God is from “You became imitators of us and of the Lord” (v.6) to
“You became an example to all the believers” when “your faith in God
has gone forth everywhere” (v.8). At the IDMC Conference in 2004,
a young lady whom I did not know came up to me and said, “David,
I would like you to know that I am your third generation disciple.” I
discovered that she was discipled by someone whom I discipled from
1981 to 1986, who then became a missionary.