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The C h r is t ia n Hem e by Rev. Paul Bayles
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*Rev. Bayles in pantor of the Christ Community Church, Canoga
F r e q u e n t l y one of Paul’s greatest assets is not mentioned. We know he was a great apostle. His writ ings are profound. His courage and stamina are qualities to observe. Yet these are mere by-products of the fact that he felt things deeply and knew how to express what he felt. First Thessalonians chapter three is an ex ample of how Paul communicated love with a freedom that few men seem to have. To be sure, this is love towards a congregation •— a large, nebulous group. Sometimes it is easier to love an abstract group than it is to love specific persons. It might be argued that Paul expressed such warm love because he was in charge of this group. They looked to him and ad mired him, so he found it easy to ex press love. It was expected of him. He was maintaining their image of him. Furthermore, this is a letter and not a personal confrontation. It is al ways easier to write about our deep feelings than it is to express them face to face. The answer is, “ So what?” If this is the only way he can express love at this point of his life — at least he is doing it Years later, in writing to individuals in the pastoral letters, he communicated deep affection to Tim othy, Titus and Philemon. Let’s analyze the love he expressed to the Thessalonians. He wanted closeness instead of dis tance. He was forced to leave them and had tried to get back to them. He said he was praying that God would allow him to return to them. Most of us want closeness, but our fear and reserve keep us apart. Paul recognized that distance existed and that he was helpless to remedy the situation without God’s intervention. He accepted the lostness of his pre dicament and expressed what he felt. He turned it over to God. He liked them. Paul liked the hu man race. He knew that some were likeable and others were harder to like. It was easy for Paul to like the Thessalonians because T i m o t h y brought back word that they liked
him. When we don’t like people, it is usually because we’re afraid that they don’t like us. We protect our selves against hurt. We may spiri tualize our dislike by saying, “ They’re not good Christians anyway.” We are really projecting self-hate. We dis like ourselves and assume others do too. So we dislike them before we ever give them a chance. Paul liked himself. When the Thes salonians expressed their love for him, he didn’t begin downgrading himself with false humility. He didn’t fill the air with artificially pious words like “ I am not worthy.” In effect he said, “ I see that you like me as much as I like you.” Paul accepted the embarrassment of their love. It is embarrassing to have a report come back that you are loved. He accepted the embarrassment and wrote back with feeling so intense it’s almost embarrassing for the mod ern reader. We hardly expect to find such raw, naked, human feeling in the Bible. Where better could it be found? He cared about them. He gave Tim othy to them. That means he was alone. Love does give and care. Love wants to help. Of course, we help to be helped. We all are helped when we feel we have helped. This is our game; it is also a part of love. Paul was reasonably unselfish. He was glad that Timothy had helped them too. It is difficult to rejoice when people we love are helped by someone else! We need to be the ones to help them. Love is unselfish when our desires for another’s good are so true, that we are glad even when help comes from other legitimate sources. Paul prayed for these whom he loved. When a Christian loves, he will want to pray. Paul prayed for these whom he loved. Paul prayed for increased closeness. He prayed for blessing, growth and protection upon them. All of these ingredients to love can be applied to the home and the church. The Christmas season is a natural for growing in this kind of caring, giving love. THE KING'S BUSINESS
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