Signs of Grace

[370 words] Paul began his second letter to the Thessalonian church with these encouraging words, “We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brethren, as is only fitting, because your faith is greatly enlarged, and the love of each one of you toward one another grows ever greater; therefore, we ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure” (2 Thess. 1:3–4). Two things strike me as significant in these two verses. First, not only did Paul express thanksgiving for the Christians in Thessalonica, he affirmed that such an expression of gratitude was what he “ought” to do. The apostle believed that expressions of thanks were more than just a way to be polite; they were, to him, an ever-present obligation. Jesus implied the same point in His penetrating question…