During our visit to Greece 18 years ago we spent time in Thessaloniki (Thessalonica). One sight in the city that impressed was was a fairly new display at that time of Christian history in the Museum of Byzantine Culture. Not only were bits of Christian art and architecture displayed but also some re-creations of ordinary Christian life in cities of the 3rd, 4th, 5th centuries. Overall, we felt awed to stand in the presence of physical evidence for the continuation of a faith that has carried down the ages.
As I consider Paul’s commendation of the Thessalonians’ faith in this week’s text from I Thessalonians 1:1-10, it seems appropriate that such a museum display is found in modern-day Thessaloniki. The passage praises God for the faith exhibited by the Thessalonians and then states that they had become an example to believers in the surrounding area. What is more, verse 8 tells us that their faith had become known to “everyone,” even beyond that area of “Macedonia and Achaia.”
I noted in the first sermon of this series on faith that it is a gift. Along with the other two theological virtues, hope and love, one cannot set out to acquire the virtue of faith like one can some other virtues. One can become more courageous by doing brave deeds. One can become more patient by holding back immediate reactions and deliberately making oneself wait for things. However, it’s difficult to picture how one might form a habit of faith by, say, believing things more often. Instead, we must acknowledge our need for faith and then receive it as a gift from God.
Yet there is one way in which faith is acquired like other virtues and this text from the beginning of Paul’s first letter to Thessalonica highlights it. At least to some extent, we may learn faith by example. In verse 6, Paul notes how the Thessalonians “became imitators of us and of the Lord,” following both the apostles’ and Jesus’ own examples of faith. Then in verse 7 he tells how they in turn, as I’ve already said, became examples of faith for others.
Faith is a gift, but God often uses human instruments to give that gift. Our own lives of faith grow immensely as we look to the examples we have been given. And we must not overlook the role our own faith may play as an example to someone else, whether child, friend, co-worker or fellow church member. We talk about “sharing” a faith for a reason. It’s designed by God to be that way.