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And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe. For you, brothers and sisters, became imitators of God\u2019s churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus: You suffered from your own people the same things those churches suffered from the Jews who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and also drove us out. They displease God and are hostile to everyone in their effort to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. In this way they always heap up their sins to the limit. The wrath of God has come upon them at last.

Paul has much to be thankful for. He has already given thanks for the faith, hope and love of this young church. Now he offers thanks for how they responded to the Word of God. This thanksgiving invites us to reflect on how we ourselves respond to the scriptures. An opposite reaction would be to harden our hearts. So, as we reflect on these verses, let us all pay attention to how we receive the Bible.

The scriptures can be just words, received by our ears as merely human words. However, as some point, they cease to be only words. We begin to recognize these words are holy, coming from God himself. They have power and we begin to receive them as such. The writer of Hebrews says, \u201cThe Word of God is alive and active\u201d (4:12). We pay a different kind of attention to them.

Recognizing that God\u2019s Speech is living and moving within us, we notice that it is \u201cteaching, rebuking, correcting and training\u201d us (2 Timonthy 3:16). As we become sensitive to this living Word and familiar with the movements of the Holy Spirit, we increasingly long for lives shaped by God. All Christians have times of resistance in which we harden our hearts to this business. Yet, God has a way of moving us back towards sensitivity.

God rarely works with us in isolation. Scripture puts significant emphasis on the church as the community of Christ. We grow up into Christ within this community. The Christians in Thessalonica had the disciples in Judea as examples to follow.

This Christian imitation goes two ways. Who do we tend to imitate? With a world full of celebrities, the choices are manifold. It is best to know folks closer to home that set an example for us. Not that we should follow anyone blindly. But most of us learn best by watching others. This is the way the faith is often passed down. Who is imitating us? When Moses told the Israelites to impress the commandments on their children, to talk about them in their homes, when they walked along the road (Deuteronomy 6:7), surely, he envisioned the adults following these commands. The younger ones would see and hear.

Paul pays attention to suffering endured for the gospel both in Judea and in Thessalonica. He is not espousing antisemitism. He is thinking of those people who conspired with the Romans to have Jesus crucified and who were still harassing all who followed him. To stand against such oppression we need each other.

Their hearts were soft to the Scriptures. They had other Christians leading the way. Thanks be to God!

As you journey on, go with the blessing of God:

May God himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole, put you together\u2014spirit, soul, and body\u2014and keep you fit for the coming of our Master, Jesus Christ. The One who called you is completely dependable. If he said it, he\u2019ll do it! The amazing grace of Jesus Christ be with you! (1 Thessalonians 5:23,24,28 The Message).