Second Thessalonians is short. When I first read through the Bible, it was a real relief finally to get to books that were two pages long. Though brief, this letter is rich with key themes in everything Paul wrote: persevere—keep at it! Have faith in the truth, the Good News as Paul taught it—stay true to the faith taught by the apostles. Live the faith you claim: serve the Lord who has claimed you.

These themes are rich because each can be so very difficult to keep. Perseverance? It’s so easy to feel sorry for ourselves, to start blaming others, blaming God. Keep the faith? What is it, anyway? The Church is torn again and again by new teachings, new discoveries that are of course completely in keeping with the heart of the faith—the part that matters most, rather than those parts of the faith that don’t matter, or shouldn’t, anyway, in our so very woke times. Live the faith? Well, how did that go, this week? We talk a great game and are still a little too quick to put self first, pride, still a little too slow to practice charity, forbearance, patience, and humility, a little too slow to follow in the path of Jesus.

So, I would encourage you to spend more time with this brief, concentrated letter. Let’s let each sentence seep its way into our minds, into our hearts. Let’s pray with this letter, and let this letter guide us in our praying.

Paul wants us to know that “the Lord is faithful” (3:3). We say, of course He is! Do you feel it? Is it a conviction at the very heart of your heart, where self was once enthroned? God will fulfill what He has promised. God has not promised that our lives or our discipleship will be easy. Jesus makes plain time and again, the lives of the apostles clearly demonstrate, that God does not promise the believer’s life will be smooth: we will be challenged, persecuted for our faith; we will feel sorely tempted. Weak. Vulnerable. Afraid. Confused.

“But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen you and keep you safe from the Evil One” (3:3). The power of the Evil One is the power of temptation and deceit. Oh, we’ve been snared, more times than we care to confess, God knows. And what God has resolved to do, is now doing, and will fulfill in His time is to keep us safe, no matter what happens. Because we’re such adorable people? No. Come on, seriously? Because He thinks so highly of the Son, because what the Son asks of the Father, the Father will do, and the Son asks the Father to keep us, and the Son is praying for us, not just as some mass of believers, but individually, personally, because we are known to Jesus, and he loves each one of us more than his own life, because the Father gave us to the Son.

There’s no inspiration in contempt or resentment. Contempt and resentment are signs of self-exaltation. What Jesus shows us is the way of peace, peace with God. If we’re looking for peace with one another, we first need to be at peace with God. We can be at peace with God only in Jesus Christ, only in living the way of those who are at peace with God.

To call this way faithfulness is correct, so far as that goes; even more correct is to say that this way Jesus shows us, this way of peace with God that makes for peace with one another, this way is obedience. Ooh. Obedience—that’s a tougher sell than faithfulness, isn’t it? I’ll be the very first to say that I am faithful, oh yes, thank you Jesus, I am faithful, I just know it! But now ask me differently: ask me if I’m obedient. Obedient? Who do you think you are? Obedience is for children and dogs, not adults! I obey me! Oh. There it is. So, self, how can you say you are so very faithful when you get so ruffled at this idea of obedience, at the mere thought of it? Jesus makes plain that the perfection of faithfulness is the perfection of obedience: “Not my will, but Thy will be done” (Lk 22:42).

Paul writes that the Lord helps him to have confidence that the faithful “are doing and will continue to do what we tell you” (3:4); that is, keep the faith that was taught, be obedient. The way to peace with God is keeping the faith, because the faith we are keeping is Jesus Christ who was obedient even to death on a cross (Phil 2:8). Paul often warns of other teachers who teach another gospel. Beloved, the faith given to us is so simple yet so difficult. We’re always ready to make it even simpler, to fashion a gospel that’s easier and, truth be told, more to our liking. This is so human, old as Eve, old as Adam.

Abide in the obedience of faith: faith is obedient. Abide how? Love. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and then also your neighbor as yourself. We’re never as good at that as we think. All these people out there who don’t know their right hand from their left, lost, wandering people, so sad, so worthy of our pity and compassion, rather than our contempt and unkindness.

They’re all God’s children, after all. Well, no. They are all God’s creation, and they can all become God’s children in Jesus Christ, through whom we have adoption, as Scripture tells us (Rom 8:15, Gal 4:5, Eph 1:5). We have compassion because we know Christ. We know Christ wants them to know him, too. If we have no compassion for them, show no compassion, speak no compassion, why do we say we know Christ?

What we all need, what I need and long for, and weep because I don’t have it yet, is exactly what Paul prays, such a beautiful prayer: “May the Lord lead you into a greater understanding of God’s love and the endurance that is given by Christ” (3:5). Please pray that way for me, beloved. If you like, I will pray that way for you. Let us pray that powerful prayer for one another. O Lord, direct our hearts: direct them into Your love, love for You and the love You are. Direct our hearts into the steadfastness of Christ, who for the sake of Your love endured all things for us with hope, charity, compassion, peace, faith, and love.

We say, and feel, that we just don’t have the strength, yet here we are. We have persevered, weathered the storms, storms we were sure would destroy us. And in what do we boast? Our courage? Our strength? Our wisdom? Our pride? Our sterling record of accomplishment? Our perfectly correct political views? We boast in the Lord, apart from whom we would be destroyed, apart from whom we are ourselves destroyers, not builders.

Paul addresses this destructive nature in his famous comments about idle people: those who do not work should not eat (3:10). Paul isn’t talking about people outside the church, nonbelievers, so we should exercise some caution in applying what Paul says to matters outside the church. It’s an excellent general principle. Here, Paul is concerned with those who claim the faith but do not yet seem to have been claimed by the faith. Idleness, laziness—an unruly, undisciplined life. Paul isn’t talking about lapses, those temptations that we let master us from time to time. We all still stumble, and we always will, in this life, Lord have mercy upon us.

Paul urges us not to associate with those who claim the faith yet live no indication that the faith has claimed them; first, there is the danger that continued association might lead to disobedience rubbing off on us. Mainly, what Paul seems to intend is that, as we take our discipleship very seriously, those who aren’t taking theirs seriously might think again and become more serious. They don’t become an example for us. We strive to be an example for them, always in love, charity, compassion, hope and faith: there, but for the grace of God, go I.

Another concern is how the idle employ their idleness. Too often, those who claim the faith that has not yet claimed them become busybodies in the congregation, meddlers, drama-makers, pot-stirrers. I’ve been in such churches; I’m very glad indeed not to have seen that here. Paul insists that we insist upon another way, that we all be willing to work at our callings within the body, that we apply ourselves to the sacred business of discipleship, building and blessing the body. As we build and bless, we praise Jesus Christ and live our love for God.

Maybe some of them had grown weary of doing good, if you can imagine. It’s always easier to do good for yourself than for another. Why shouldn’t I come first? Doing good for others is costly, in time, in resources. God knows. “But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary of doing good” (3:13). When we focus on growing our own discipleship, we end up growing the discipleship of the church. Doing good certainly includes doing good for those who are not in the church; it also includes doing good for one another. What is the good we could be doing? What is the good we could be doing?

Beloved, true love, God’s love, in action, brings us to greater and still greater heights, depths, of discipleship. Love in action. Here’s a shocker: love does judge. Love is very clear-eyed. Love doesn’t make excuses: self-deception makes excuses. Pride makes excuses. Judgment judges without compassion; judgment judges from a sense of superiority. Love judges in love. Love judges from faith. If you want the best for the beloved, can you want what is contrary to God’s Word and way for that person? I love you, so go and destroy yourself, and God bless you! What?! “I have much work still to do on myself, and I love you, so I’m concerned about what I see you doing, hear you saying; I’m concerned about the direction it looks to me like your life is taking, because it looks like it’s veering away from what I understand to be God’s way.”

Have you ever had a conversation like that? Have you ever tried? Could you? Would it feel arrogant to you, presumptuous, judgmental? I wonder how Jesus felt, when he had those conversations, because he had them all the time. He was always having them. Paul was always having them: just read his letters.

And then, in the midst of all this anxiety and outrage produced by the inhuman notion that love does judge, that love looks like something, that discipleship means something, that obedience matters and disobedience matters, Paul speaks these words: “May the Lord Himself, who is our source of peace, give you peace at all times and in every way” (3:16). Paul senses in those believers a lack of peace; he may even fear that he adds to that lack of peace when he tells them some rather strong things about how to live with one another as a true church of true disciples worshiping the true God. Persevere. Keep the teaching, all the teaching, that has been given to you, in this book. Don’t just claim the faith, be claimed by it. Remember that the Lord is our source of peace, of holy shalom. Treasure that and share that treasure—with those outside the church, of course, and with those inside the church, of course.

And to Jesus Christ, who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom, priests of his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever.