Advent Devotional by Neita Geilker

1 Thessalonians 3:9–13 (The Message)

And may the Master pour on the love so it fills your lives and splashes over
on everyone around you, just as it does from us to you. (1 Thessalonians 3:11).

Paul has wanted desperately to visit the church at Thessalonica which he is so proud of and brags about to all the other churches he visits. When he cannot visit, he sends Timothy to give him a report. They are his children, and he is happy to hear they perform well even in his absence and even when they faced troubles.

That is what we have wanted for our children—that they have learned so well that when they go off to school, we can be proud of them, even in kindergarten, so that their report cards reflect what we want to see, especially in deportment. I fear that my teaching was not always adequate: “Talks too much.” “Acts out in class.” “Turns in messy papers.” So, we were greatly pleased and relieved when later reports conveyed feedback we could be proud of. And this has continued throughout their lives. Both Emily and Eric are generous with their time and their talents, Emily with pro bono legal assistance and Eric matching community needs with funding through his church by maintaining contact with the police department, auto repair shops, and pawn shops.

As we look forward to Jesus’ return, we trust that he will be proud of us, and we will have learned the lessons he wanted to teach us so that we can share that love that fills our lives and splashes over on everyone around us. Of course, we will have suffered in many ways just as the Thessalonians did, but we will have striven to rise above our emotional and physical pain and stay true to our calling so that we may be “infused with strength and purity and filled with confidence in the presence of God our Father when our Master Jesus arrives with all his followers (3:13).”

Neita Geilker