In honor of this Memorial Day weekend, Sunday, May 29th, Senior Pastor Craig Bailey reminded Redeemer Presbyterian Church (Charleston, SC) of the certainty of death and the briefness of life. “None of us are going to make it out alive.” So what are we to do with the lives that the Lord has given us?
In I Thessalonians 2:17-20 the Apostle Paul speaks of his love and passion for the people of Thessalonica. He was intentionally Christ-centered when building relationships with this group of people, on his second missionary journey. Why was he? Because people are worth it. We too have opportunities to invest in the people in our lives in all of our areas of influence, but often idols within our hearts prevent us from doing so.
John Calvin stated, “our hearts are idol factories.” They replace Christ in our hearts as our savior, but the gospel topples those idols and redeems us. This good news should inspire us to invest in people, as we are instruments of the gospel. People in Thessalonica who turned from their idols and were redeemed became the glory and joy of Paul, who gave up worldly glory. These people were his crown of victory offered to him for Christ.
“For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” (II Timothy 1:7) With this promise, we should go forth and invest in people while we wait for the Lord to return. Listen to the sermon here to hear more about why people are worth it.
