“So That the Name of Our Lord Jesus May Be Glorified in You”
Today’s Bible reading is Genesis 12 and 2 Thessalonians 1.
The last verse of 2 Thessalonians 1 gives us a good goal as we head into the weekend.
To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Thes 1:11-12)
Glorifying the name of Jesus. Or, put even more simply, honoring the name of my Lord. That’s the way we ought to be thinking as Christians. We bear his name. We’ve submitted ourselves to his Lordship. We’re anticipating his return as a bride waits for her bridegroom. In the meantime, we will honor him in every aspect of our lives.
Paul briefly references a few of the ways those Christians in Thessalonica were glorifying the name of Jesus:
- Their faith was growing abundantly (1:3)
- The love they had for each other was increasing (1:3)
- They were remaining steadfast in the face of persecution and affliction (1:4)
- They believed the testimony of the apostles and were acting accordingly (1:10)
We live nearly 2,000 years later on the other side of the globe, but our aim should be the same: I will live, act, react, love, mature, sacrifice, and endure in ways that honor my Lord Jesus Christ. That’s a goal worth having this weekend.