Sorting Through the Junk

1 Thessalonians 2:13-20
Like most of you I receive a tremendous amount of mail. Some of it comes to my home but a lot of it comes to the church where I am pastor. Each and every item that I receive is designed to grab my attention with the hope that I will respond in some way to what it says. The trick, of course, is to sort out the important stuff from what we usually call “junk mail.” Paul commends his readers in Thessalonica for their ability to separate the “junk mail” from that which most deserves their attention. “We also constantly give thanks to God for this, that when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word but as what it really is, God's word, which is also at work in you believers” (1 Thessalonians 2:13).

There are an almost limitless number of words addressed to each of us on any given day. The vast majority of them are what Paul would term as “human.” They may be important, may convey needed information, but the words that give us life and light and hope are the ones that come from God, and the ability to discern those words from among the others is essential. The Thessalonians had made the distinction and as a result they had been led to faith in God through Jesus Christ. How hard do we work at sorting out the words, looking for God’s message in a sea of noise? How much time do we put into study and prayer, into contemplation and reflection so that when God’s word comes we are ready to receive it?

I’m sure that on occasion I have missed some important item of mail mixed in with the junk. I may have thrown away a bill or a letter from a friend because I didn’t recognize it at such. May I never confuse human words for God’s word, and may I never overlook that which God wants me to hear.

Prayer: Lord, give us the wisdom to discern your word for us and to live according to it. In Jesus’ name. Amen.