Do you ever wonder about the difference between the picture of Christianity painted in the Bible and the brand of faith you encounter in the world around you? Let's bring this closer to home. Do you ever look at your own faith and compare it to the faith of people like Paul, Peter, and Timothy and grow uncomfortable at the comparison? Let me tell you a secret: my answer to both questions would be yes.

I spend a lot of time thinking about how my faith differs from the example I see in Scripture.

This may be true for you, too. That's one of the gifts of God's Word: it is a measuring rod used to evaluate our lives. I see aspects of my life that reflect God's character. I can see the evidence of the shaping work of the Spirit. But I also see so many elements that don't yet measure up to the example we have in the Bible. This tension isn't unhealthy: the disappointment of missing the mark and the hopefulness of the work of sanctification. There is work yet to be done.

I was reminded recently of the contrast between how I express my faith and how we see Paul expressing his in the biblical narrative. Near the end of 2nd Thessalonians, Paul begins wrapping up his letter. He says this in 2nd Thessalonians 3:1–2:

"(1) Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, (2) and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith."

There is so much to learn here in these simple words. But first, some context. Paul wrote 1st and 2nd Thessalonians from Corinth on his second missionary journey. There had been a lot of fruit, but it had been a really rough trip. He was forcibly run out of Thessalonica by Jews who did not want him preaching the Gospel, and he was hampered as he fled to Corinth. He was facing persecution at every step, and the young church he planted in Thessalonica was as well, which is why the order of Paul's prayer is so important.

Given everything we know about the situation, what might we have expected Paul to pray for? What would we understand to be first on his mind? In his shoes, how might we have prayed? I put myself in his shoes and would have asked for prayers for my safety. After all, Paul knew how important his work was. He knew that what he was doing was advancing the Kingdom in significant ways. We'd expect Paul to pray for his safety for personal reasons and for the sake of the Gospel work being done. "This is important stuff. Pray that the persecution we're experiencing would die down."

But this isn't what Paul did.

Paul did not first ask the Thessalonians to pray for his safety. He didn't first ask them to pray for their safety. The primary burden on Paul's heart was a deep desire that "the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored." When Paul says the "word of the Lord," he is talking about the Gospel. Paul's main concern, the number one request on his heart, wasn't for his well-being or even the well-being of the Thessalonians. It was a petition to pray for people to hear and receive the universe-changing story of God's plan of redemption and renewal.

"That the word of the Lord may speed ahead . . . "

And so I have to ask myself, why isn't that prayer first on my lips today and every day? Why, as a Christ-follower, am I not so burdened by the speeding ahead of the Gospel in my workplace, community, and home that I can't help but beg God to see it happen? What has to happen for my heart to be so full of a desire to see God's Word honored in the world around me that I put it above my own welfare?

Paul's example isn't merely a call to reorganize our priorities but a serious pondering of our identities as God’s children.

How much do we really care about our Father's work? Our flesh is so strong that we don't realize how powerful our tendency is to shrink the God of the Universe down to a me-sized solution for making our days easier. Because, if we're honest, that's what we do a lot of the time. Even as we couch our prayers in our desire to faithfully serve Him, we still have a me-first mindset. "God, help me as I help you."

I think Paul's example is a wake-up call, a gentle reminder to ask ourselves what we truly want. Not what we think or say we want, but what our actual posture toward God lays bare about the desires of our heart. Is your primary motivation the advancement of the Gospel or your own comfort? It's a question worth asking.

This article originally appeared in Volume 27 of my free newsletter, Good For You.

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Our Comfort vs. The Gospel

I spend a lot of time thinking about how my faith differs from the example I see in Scripture.

But this isn't what Paul did.

Paul's example isn't merely a call to reorganize our priorities but a serious pondering of our identities as God’s children.