“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up,” is one of my
favourite verses. Yet I will admit that there are many times when I fail to
live up to it. The world is filled with too many harsh words, too many angry
criticisms, too many careless words, too much putting people down that creates
a lot of hurt people, a lot of people walking through life doubting themselves
and their worth. We need to be reminded of Proverbs 15:1,
“A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a
harsh word stirs up anger.” There’s a huge
need for more people like Barnabas, whose name means “Son of encouragement.”
Barnabas helped Paul become the apostle he was. He encouraged Paul, stood by
Paul when others were afraid of Paul, accompanied Paul on his first missionary
journeys to provide support, and Barnabas built Paul up as a brother in Jesus.
Paul’s
writing to the church in Thessalonica. Paul visited Thessalonica on his
second missionary journey. Paul preached in the city’s synagogue for at least
three weeks, and because of his ministry, a church was born. When Paul faced
persecution at the hands of a mob, he fled to Berea, but the Thessalonians
forced him to leave there also. You can find the story in Acts 17. This church
experienced persecution regularly, and one of Paul’s reasons for writing is to
encourage them, to give them strength. One of the ways he does this is by
reminding them that Jesus is coming back again to claim this world as his own.
The
chapter before our passage is all about the return of Jesus. Amy Peeler
writes, “this letter is written in anticipation of Jesus’ return, “This
eager anticipation translates into another reason that calls forth Paul’s
praise: the Thessalonians correctly discern the times and seasons. They know
that the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night.” Amy Peeler
goes on, “Dionysus, the god of wine, was worshipped in Thessalonica, and his
nighttime celebrations had the reputation of being frenzied, ecstatic,
orgiastic events. The Thessalonians, being called from the worship of dead
idols to serve the living God, no longer should participate in such events.
Instead of being unclothed they are to put on the specific clothing readying
them for battle.”
Paul
reminds them that they’re people of the day, people of the light who shine the
light of Jesus into the world. Paul calls them to be sober instead of drunk
like the followers of Dionysus, the god of wine. Paul encourages them to put on
armour to protect their hearts and minds from the influences and persecution
around them; the breastplate of faith and love and
the helmet of the hope of salvation.
We’re
called to protect our minds and hearts, and Paul points us to the three great
protectors: faith, hope, and love. Karoline Lewis writes, “As Paul nears the
end of the letter he returns to the triad with which he started — faith, love,
and hope. The triad recast in the imagery of armor suggests that possessing
faith, love, and hope is not without its challenges. Indeed, this is how they
are introduced at the beginning of the letter — work of
faith, labor of love, and steadfastness of hope. Faith,
love, and hope need to be lifted up and built up as marks of the community.”
When faith, hope and love settle deep in our hearts, encouragement and building
others up becomes more natural and automatic, part of our character.
With
our hearts and minds protected, we’re able to live with confidence and
hope in Jesus. “For God did not appoint us to suffer
wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so
that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.” Some
of the Thessalonians were worried that if they die before Jesus returns, they’ll
miss out on the kingdom of heaven. Paul reassures them that Jesus is Lord of
life and death and died so that we can experience new life through his
resurrection; we will not miss out on this new life even if we experience death
here, so go through life with confidence and hope. Encouragement is much more
than saying “great job,” or “hang in there, things will get better;”
the best encouragement is reminding us who Jesus is and how we’re so closely
connected to him that not even death can separate us from him.
What
does encouragement and building each other up look like? It starts by paying
attention to what’s going on in each other’s lives, what others are facing,
what sort of challenges and stresses are happening in their lives. This means
being genuinely interested in each other and that takes time; time together,
time talking with each other, time walking alongside each other, and time spent
sharing life together. This is what church looks like, or at least I pray it
does.
The
word encourage in Greek is parakaleo and means to urge, to implore,
or exhort. When I hear these words, I hear passion and concern, a desire
for the other person to experience hope and strength, a new way of seeing Jesus
at work in their life. The verb to build up in
Greek is oikodomeo and it can be translated as strengthen, edify,
benefit, or restore. This is about helping people see how Jesus is working
in their lives, showing them that they’re part of a church family and not
walking through life alone. Encouraging and building up
each other is as much about building up and strengthening the faith of
others as it is about our emotions. When you encourage and build someone up in
their faith, you’re building them up emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.
We
all need encouragement, we all need someone to build us up in those times when
we’ve been knocked down, when we feel we’ve failed and our sense of self-worth
is gone. In my last church, the financial situation became so tight that they
could no longer afford a full-time pastor and I was encouraged to find a new
church position. I felt like a failure, like I had failed the church and my
family. I had doubts about my calling and doubts about my abilities as a
pastor. The chair of council sensed that hurt and dropped by the church and sat
down and talked about the people’s lives I had been able to touch in the 3 ½
years there, the people who had been given hope, comfort, and peace in Jesus through
my presence there. She was a Barnabas to me, a voice of encouragement.
Encouragement
doesn’t always sound like words; it can look like a side hug when you
notice someone who seems to be feeling down. It looks like sitting down with
someone after they messed up something and helping them learn from what had
happened and to try again. It’s a reminder that Jesus doesn’t condemn us for
failing, that he gives us what we need to keep going. It looks like being
excited to see someone you haven’t seen for a while. Being an encourager
comes out of our character.
Philippians 2 reminds us, "In your relationships
with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very
nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own
advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as
a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!"
It’s about caring about others so much you’re willing to be a humble servant,
wanting to bless them and help them be who God's created them to be.
Imagine
a church filled with people always looking for ways to encourage and build each other
up to be who God has created them to be? Can you imagine the sense of community
and fellowship, the strength between the people, the witness they would be to
the community of the power of Jesus to change our lives, the glimpse of the
kingdom of heaven they would be? Real encouragement
comes out of knowing Jesus and what he’s done for us, knowing that in our
brokenness, Jesus accepts us and loves us. But Jesus loves us too much to allow
us to stay like we are and he gives us the Holy Spirit so that we might be
transformed more into who God has created us to be through unconditional
forgiveness, grace, healing and acceptance into the family of God.
Encouragement feels like acceptance and hope. This is why inviting someone to
join you in your walk with Jesus is so important, because you're showing that
person acceptance.
In the end it's all about God. By encouraging and building others up, the people God brings into our
lives get a glimpse of the kingdom of God; they experience a little of who God
is and his love and commitment for them. Our encouragement rests in knowing
that Jesus is coming back, that whatever we’re going through, it won’t last
forever. Here you will find the encouragement you need and will be encouraged to
build each other. It all leads to praising God.
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