May 22

2 Thessalonians 1:11 (NIV)
11 With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith.

The way the NIV interprets this Greek wording is interesting and sparks my interest. The literal translation is …, that might fill every good thought of goodness and work of trust in power”. I really like this thought that he may bring to fruition our every desire for goodness and our every deed prompted by faith. There are two rockin’ principles right there!

First I notice here that I (we) have a desire towards goodness (moral goodness). That is so true! We have, within us, a great desire to do what is right because we have Him who is “right” living in us. We can’t help but want to do what is right. That is who we are!

Second, we want to do something with our faith. Faith (trust) is not to be shelved or internally considered, it prompts action. In deed how can you have trust if you don’t do something that exhibits your trust? This is where James talks about “faith without works is dead”! It is impossible for us as God followers not to “do” something because of
what God has instilled and installed in us. It is just natural. I don’t “do” because I “have to”, I do because that is what comes naturally. The calling (a responsibility to a certain task) is proven in all of us because we are people of action. We are not those who wait for someone else to do the something that we are called to do. We do it.