One
thing for sure about the Apostle Paul,ewas never satisfied with
the spiritual condition of the saints. Nowhere is this more evident than
in his words to the church at Thessalonica:
“But
as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you…indeed ye
do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech
you, brethren, that ye increase more and more” (I Thes. 4:9,10).
Did
you catch that? After acknowledging that the brotherly love of
the Thessalonians was so great that it had spilled over into the
surrounding regions of Macedonia, rather than congratulate them, the
apostle begged them to “increase more and more.” When it came to wanting
God’s people to grow in the Lord, there was no end to the Apostle Paul!
In this he reminds me of my father, who was never satisfied with the
level of success that he had attained at any point in his life.
Years
ago, my brother (who was Dad’s partner in his tool and die
business) was telling me about the tremendous growth that their machine
shop had experienced after I left to work for Pastor Stam at Berean
Bible Society. It was no coincidence, by the way, that the shop really
took off after I left, for I was never a very good toolmaker! But after
hearing of the exponential growth that my father’s business had
experienced, I remarked to my brother, “Dad must be very happy about all
this.” Shaking his head, my brother replied with words that I will
never forget, saying, “There is no end to Dad. He wants to buy
more machines, hire more people.”
That
was certainly my father. When the state lottery began in Illinois,
he mentioned to an old friend who worked at his shop that he had bought a
ticket. This friend, who had known my dad for years, just laughed at
him, and asked, “What would you do if you won the lottery? You wouldn’t
retire like most people, you’d just buy more machines!”
Beloved,
that’s the way to achieve greatness in any field of endeavor. Never be
satisfied! Paul wasn’t satisfied with the surpassing love of the saints
at Thessalonica. Don’t you want to be like Paul? Are you satisfied with
the level of your spiritual growth? Are you begging God to help you
attain pinnacles of spirituality that would make an angel gasp? No
matter what area of your spiritual life needs to flourish, are you
willing to pray about it right now?
Posted By Cecil and Connie Spivey
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