How do you define success?
And what does it take for you to view a project as a failure?
The Apostle Paul helps us answer these questions.
In 1 Thessalonians 2:1, he writes these words to the church that he, Silas, and Timothy started:
“For you yourselves know, brothers, that our coming to you was not in vain” (ESV).
Paul looked back at his time in Thessalonica as a success. It was “not a failure” (NLT). It was time well spent; it was not “wasted” (CEV).
We know what happened during this visit. According to Acts 17:4, Paul preached the gospel and the initial response was positive: “Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women.”
This is encouraging – many people were converted, both Jews and Gentiles!
Other Jews, however, became jealous and “rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city” (v. 5). Eventually, things got so bad that Paul and his companions were forced to leave the city, a common occurrence during these missionary journeys.
The negative reaction of the unbelieving Jews did not cloud Paul’s perspective, however. He focused on those who welcomed the truth and came to saving faith in Christ.
Look at how Paul describes these believers:
“For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe. For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, for you also endured the same sufferings at the hands of your own countrymen, even as they did from the Jews” (1 Thessalonians 2:13-14).
One could look at this situation and say the results were “mixed.” Many believed and these new Christians became one of the strongest churches in the New Testament. Paul commends them for their faith, love, hope, joy, patience, and perseverance. They became a “model to all the believers.” (1 Thessalonians 1:3-10)
And others rejected the gospel and ran Paul out of town. And even the Gentiles who became Christians were persecuted by the non-believing Gentiles.
Yet the church prospered. The people grew spiritually and became strong in the faith. This is what mattered to Paul.
And it is what should matter to us today.
The gospel continues to go forth throughout the world. And Jesus continues to do what He said He would do: “I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not overcome it.” And while Christ is saving the lost and sanctifying His people, is there opposition and persecution from the enemies of God? Yes, and plenty of it.
As you look at your own life and the part you play in the spread of the gospel and the growth of the church in your community, how do you evaluate the situation?
What do you choose to focus on? The positive results or the negative?
May we all have the perspective of Paul. We can expect the results, from a human standpoint, to be “mixed.” Yet because we know what God is doing through it all, the time we spend doing kingdom work is never in vain. It is never wasted, because we know that if we love God, He is at work in the lives of His people, working all things together for our good and His glory. Amen?
