Verse 1 “‘This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy.'” (NLT) The will of God chose Paul to be an apostle of Jesus. The will of God chooses us to be an ambassador of Christ, too. It’s not just happenstance that we are a follower of Jesus. We are called out amongst the crowd and chosen by the will of God.

Verse 3 “‘We always pray for you, and we give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.'” (NLT) In this part, Paul is connecting God the Father to our Lord Jesus. He is telling them that the only way to God is through Jesus. There’s no other way. There’s no amount of good works or good people that we can go through to get to God. It’s only by our belief in Christ.

Verse 4-5 “‘For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all of God’s people, which come from your confident hope of what God has reserved for you in heaven. You have had this expectation ever since you first heard the truth of the Good News.'” (NLT) He says that their faith in Jesus and love for others in the faith is because of their hope that is in heaven. It’s such a good reminder that our affections for other people stem from meditating on the heavenly life and letting that stir us up to both worship God and exercise love for others. If we are just looking at the character and actions of other people, it may tempt us not to love them. We might look at their sinful nature and revoke our affection toward them. But if we are looking to heaven, and Jesus and all that He has done for us and all that He has called us to, how can we keep from loving other people?

The key to loving people the way that Jesus loves us is to continue to meditate on the heavenly life that awaits us. Now, this is really convicting when we might have people in our lives who frustrate us, loved ones who do things out of selfish desires or lack of self-control. This part of the scripture should lift the veil for us and help us to see that the only way we can love hard-to-love people unconditionally, like Jesus, is to keep our eyes focused on Him in heaven. Our love for ALL of God’s people (even our enemies) comes from our confident hope of what God has reserved for us in Heaven. When I ask myself how can I love this person who is unlovable, I should be reminded that my love for others stems not from what they deserve but from my hope awaiting me in heaven. It’s because of Jesus and what he has prepared for me in heaven that I can remain hopeful and love others no matter what they do to me. They cannot take away heaven for me. They might hurt my feelings but I still have Jesus.

Verse 9-10 “‘So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.'” (NLT) This is something we can pray over our lives daily. We can ask God to give us complete knowledge of His will and to give (us) spiritual wisdom and understanding because this is the way we honor and please God, by praying for these things. And when our lives have spiritual wisdom and understanding, our lives will produce good fruit. We will be changed and lives around us will be changed. That’s what fruit does. And then we will grow as we learn to know God better and better. We don’t get better on our own. As we learn more and more about God, we grow on the inside. We grow not only as a person but we grow in our relationships with others. We grow in our work or trade. We grow in wisdom and understanding for life.

Verse 11-12 “‘We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light.'” (NLT) Here’s another part of that prayer we should be praying every day. We should pray that we will be strengthened with all of his glorious power so that I will have the endurance and patience we need for any given situation we face today. We should pray that we will be filled with joy and continual praise on our lips, always thanking God for all that we have, for the Jesus we see in others, and for God’s work being done around us.

Verse 13-14 “‘For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.'” (NLT) This is a reminder of why we pray all these things and why we are so thankful. God has rescued us from the burden of the enemy that is filled with darkness and raised us to a new and freeing life in Christ, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins. Hallelujah!

Prayer: God, thank you for choosing me to be your child, for choosing me to be a mom, a sister, and a wife. Thank you for loving me unconditionally. Help me to love others when they are unlovable. Help me to keep looking to heaven for your help to love them. Help me to stay focused on my place in heaven and not get caught up in the drama and frustration on earth. Help me, Holy Spirit, to remain hopeful and not be hurt so easily by others. Help me to know Your will for my life, Lord. Give me spiritual wisdom and understanding in the way I should go. Guide me today. Show me what I should be doing with my life. What job I should take. Where I need to look. I want to be changed on the inside and I want that to reflect in my kids. Help me to grow as I learn about you, God. Give me the patience to sit with your Word and help me to endure reading when there are distractions. Help me to endure when I’m frustrated that I’m struggling to understand. Help me to endure all the little frustrations in my day today and help me have patience with my kids, my husband, and this job search. Thank you, God, for forgiving my sins and for remaining with me when I haven’t remained in You. Thank you for rescuing me from the darkness in this world and exposing me to your light in your word. Fill me with your light. In Jesus’ name, Amen.