Deeper Reflection
THE THESSALONIANS WERE ENDURING PERSECUTIONS AND afflictions with steadfastness and faith while waiting for the Lord to return in His glory (2 Thess 1). They were to counter false teachings concerning Christ’s Second Coming by standing firm in the truth (2 Thess 2). And in this discipleship context, Paul appropriately prays for them: “May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and the steadfastness of Christ” (v.5a).“Heart” speaks “not as the seat of emotions but of the whole person”⁴⁹. We need God to “direct” – “to make straight” – our hearts, because “apart from Christ’s influence” our hearts “wander in diverse directions after things that are not always healthy and holy”; and thus, God must “‘make them straight’ such that they are directed in a single-minded, focused way toward a specific goal or purpose”⁵⁰.The “love of God” is the love that both characterises God and is experienced from God.⁵¹ God loves us means He is committed to us with our best and highest interests at heart. And this does not mean all things will go smoothly in our lives. When God directs our hearts into His love, our hearts are in God’s love and we are secure in His love. Nothing can separate us from God’s love (Rom 8:38-39). The “steadfastness of Christ” is “the kind of perseverance found in Christ”⁵². Paul’s prayer means Christ imparts to us His own perseverance⁵³, “the kind of perseverance He displayed in a life destined for the cross”⁵⁴. When our hearts are in Christ’s perseverance as we endure trials, Christ’s perseverance is in our perseverance.

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⁴⁹ Gary S. Shogren, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Zondervan, 2012), 317 ⁵⁰ Jeffrey A. D. Weimar, 597 ⁵¹ Gordon D. Fee, 322 ⁵² Gordon D. Fee, 323 ⁵³ F. F. Bruce, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, Word Biblical Commentary (Nelson, 1982), 202 ⁵⁴54 Gordon D. Fee, 323