Twin City church of Christ Blog
“Feb 20, 2024 - God Considers It Just”
Categories: 2024 Reading DevotionalsGod Considers It Just
Reading: 2 Thessalonians 1:5-12
As the Thessalonians experience “persecutions” and “afflictions”(2 Thess 1:4), Paul insists that their experience is actually “evidence of the righteous judgment of God”(2 Thess 1:5). How? First, their persistence in difficult circumstances is vital “that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also are suffering”(2 Thess 1:5). Paul wants to remind them that their ultimate goal is full fellowship with God and that present hardship does not remove that hope (but rather proves the genuineness of their faith). Second, God is paying attention to the present situation and will act to remedy it. “Since God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us”(2 Thess 1:6). Justice means that the afflicters will be afflicted and the afflicted will have relief. Jesus will ensure this when he returns.
The next verses are both fearsome and comforting. “When the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might”(2 Thess 1:7-9). Notice that Jesus does not come to terrorize, but in “vengeance.” Those who suffer deserve their fate. Christians do not avenge themselves because we trust in God’s perfect vengeance, accomplished when Jesus returns. Those who have rejected God and his righteous will for them will be punished. Simultaneously, Jesus will be “glorified in his saints” and “marveled at among all who have believed”(2 Thess 1:10). Jesus will right all the wrongs we endure and bring true justice.
It is tempting to allow these verses to feed our malevolence toward our enemies, relishing their coming judgment. Far better is to see Jesus’ return as the fulfillment of true justice. We all grow despondent at a world where evil abounds and people wrong one another without any fear of retribution. Here Jesus promises to right all the wrongs. We yearn for that—but only if we acknowledge that we too deserve the same fate and escape it only by the mercy of our God. Rather than gloating, we should work to help others avoid “eternal destruction.”
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One Thing to Think About: How have I observed injustice?
One Thing to Pray For: Opportunities to reach the hearts of those who “do not know God” and “do not obey the gospel” before it is too late
