Jump Start # 1724

1 Thessalonians 5:12-13 “But we request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction, and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Live in peace with one another.”

Today is Veterans Day. It is the day that we recognize those who served in the military for our country and especially, those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, their very lives. There are freedoms, rights and a lifestyle that we are allowed to live in this country that came with a price. There have been and continue to be those who want to destroy our freedoms. Our military has kept us safe and allowed us to live without fear. Simple things, such as voting this week, are privileges that most in the world still do not have. We thank those who serve, whether currently or in the past.

My father is a World War II vet. There are fewer and fewer of those around. I recently saw a movie about a battle in WW II. It was a good story, but a brutal movie. As I watched that movie, I thought about my dad. He fought in battles very near where that movie took place. I told the person with me, I wouldn’t have made it. I would have been killed. How any lived was astonishing.

Our passage today reminds us of another kind of veteran, the spiritual veteran. Paul was reminding the Thessalonians that they owed a responsibility to those who had sacrificed and worked among them spiritually. The words found here are: diligently labor among you; have charge over you; give you instruction. This may have been the spiritual shepherds of that church. We commonly call them, “Elders.” Elder, reflecting more than age, but spiritual experience. Those that were chosen to be such leaders were not to be novices, or green. They were to have some “miles” upon them. They were those who have been in a few spiritual battles. They keep calm and determined when everyone else is in panic mode. They don’t chase every new idea but understand and recognize what works. They are committed to the Lord’s way.

Spiritual heroes. Spiritual veterans. Every congregation is made up of those. Someone recently gave me a copy, hand written, of the history of a congregation in a small Illinois town. This paper had several names that dated back to the 1800’s and the formation of that congregation. Those were leaders, veterans spiritually. They decided to start a congregation. That’s never easy. It’s harder yet, to keep it going. Sacrifices and determination, just as in a real battle, is what is found in these spiritual veterans.

Our passage today isn’t directed to becoming a spiritual leader. Rather, the focus is upon the congregation recognizing the work that they have done. Paul tells the church to “appreciate” and “esteem highly in love” these spiritual leaders and vets. Heaven has recognized what they have done, and now it was time for the church to do the same. How would they do that? Have a banquet? Put on a parade? You won’t find those things here. It is done through thankful prayers to God. It is done by telling these spiritual vets to their faces that you appreciate them. It is done through compliments. It is done, mostly, as we follow their steps. They have instructed. Have we learned and changed? They have led. Have we followed? They have worked hours to keep us going. Have we benefited from that and made with jobs easier or harder? Paul wasn’t looking for plaques on the wall or banners strung across the pillars, but obedient hearts that were thankful and realizing what had taken place. The best way we honor our spiritual veterans is by us taking up the work that they have done. We become spiritual leaders. We become those that others look up to and can count upon. We become the examples in a congregation. We lead by examples, and teaching, and influence. We get ourselves into the position to teaching others. We become qualified to become elders in God’s kingdom. That’s the best way we honor our leaders is by not allowing the good that they have done to be wasted. We keep moving forward. We keep making the church stronger and stronger.

Herein, lies the problem. It is easy to sit on the boat and enjoy the ride. It is easy to sit in the class and have others teach it. It is easy to attend a congregation and have others do all the work. In many ways, we can become spiritual hitchhikers. There was a time when you saw a lot of hitchhikers. We don’t see many today. In our times, we would be afraid to pull over and pick someone up. I knew a guy who hitchhiked across the country—one side to the other. The hitchhiker sticks out his thumb and is willing to hop in if you are going the direction he wants to go. It will be your car and your gas and you will do the driving. He’s just along for the ride. And when you have gone as far as he wants to go, he wants out. He has not contributed anything nor helped you in any way. He has hitched a ride. I wonder if some are doing the same with the church. They have their spiritual thumb sticking out and say, “If you are going the direction that I want to go, I may hop on board. Don’t count on me to do anything, I’m just here for the ride.” When you have gone as far as I want to go, then I’ll get off. My time with you will be short and I will leave nothing to have helped you. Spiritual hitchhikers. I wonder if that’s what many of us are. Don’t count on us. Don’t use us. Don’t bother us. But if we have gotten all that we wanted from you, then we will leave and find another church that we can hitch a ride with. That “thinkin” is plain “stinkin’.” Get involved. Get busy. Do what you can.

Why are you not a spiritual leader? If you are a husband and or dad, that’s your job description. The head of the house doesn’t mean that you bark out commands and you get to hold the remote in your hand. It means that you are leading the family to Heaven. That’s what God is counting on you to do. Your choices, your decisions must be made with others in mind. You are leading your family.

Spiritual veterans. They sacrificed. They gave. They devoted themselves. They paid a cost. We have benefitted from them. We would not be where we are without them. And now, who will take their place? Will it be you? When the church calls out to you to be an elder, will you step up or will you say, “No, I just don’t have the time,” or, “No, I just don’t feel like it.”

I wonder if my dad, when he was a newly high school graduated 18 year old, felt like being shot at in a far away south Pacific island that he had never heard of before. He did it because it was the right thing to do. When you are driven by doing the right thing, you conquer your fear and you don’t think about self. We need more to think about the right thing to do in the congregation. That’s what we need.

Thank you, vets—both those who served in our military, and those who served in God’s church. We stand upon your shoulders. You have helped us. We thank you!

Roger