Now we really live’ ‒ apostle

Paul describes finding one of the great treasures of life by saying "now we really live." What would prompt the apostle to make such an outlandish statement? Here is a man who has experienced phenomenal miracles, including blind eyes opening and people being raised from the dead.

He has preached to massive crowds, seen incredible visions of what is to come, and yet these are not what cause him to declare that he has found the substance of life. 1 Thessalonians 3:8 reveals the reason for his joy: “now we really live, because you are standing firm in the Lord”.

Paul is overjoyed because the church stands firm in the Lord. He knows that their faith has been tested. They have been marginalised and persecuted because of their association with Christ, and yet they have openly thrown their lot in with him. There are two main reasons why this group is convinced that they belong to the Lord. The first is that they have settled the issue that Jesus is the creator and owner of heaven and Earth and therefore has complete right over their lives. The second is they have a revelation of his incomparable benevolence.

The living God jumped in the way of the freight train of consequence bearing down on us, so that we may be rescued. Jesus was not obliged to go to the cross in our place and yet he chose to. He was punished so we could go free. There is no one more caring than Christ and so the wisest thing one can do is to give one’s heart to him. I wonder if there are people in our circles who are thrilled with life; who are really living, because we are standing firm in the Lord. Dave Koch, Frontier Church