Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13)

​

          Paul placed at the end of First Thessalonians, in (5:13a), the admonition for those Christians to hold their leaders “in the highest regard in love…” Then he added in his very next statement, “Live in peace with each other.” (1 Thessalonians 5:13b)

          That last statement, like many in the Bible, is “open-ended”—that is, it is written in such a way as to leave room for more than one application. Therefore, Paul could have meant, not only to command the church to “live in peace” with its leaders (the subject of the previous verse) but he might also have meant for the church to “live in peace” in all its relationships.

          Certainly both commands are needed. You can easily understand why Paul would have commanded that peace reign between the leaders and the congregation, for too many dictatorial leaders have destroyed that peace by a bullying, unilateral abuse of authority. Yet, it is also true that rebellious, ungrateful members disrupt the peace by refusing to hear the leaders’ admonitions, making their work an impossible burden. Such a lack of humility and common spiritual goals can lead to friction that can cause a congregation to implode. If, then, we are to accomplish our mission as the body of Christ, there must be peace in all relationships within the body. Peace must reign between the members and leaders, but also among the members themselves, for the truth is, to war with each other is to war with the Lord who commands us to “live in peace...”

          So, for those interested in accomplishing peace, Paul’s prescription is found in the following two verses of this letter:

“And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.”

(1 Thessalonians 5:14-15)

          When we hear all this, we may, at first, feel overloaded. So let me suggest that, for now, let’s just pay attention to the verbs—the actions that God commands: “warn...encourage...help...be patient...no pay back...be kind.” Take some time to think about how you will put each one of these into practice. Write them down. Review every relationship you have in Christ and meditate on how you might apply these verbs to each of them. Then stand back and watch as this prescription for peace do its healing!