2 THESSALONIANS 3:10 & 13 - UNTIL JESUS COMES

Until Jesus Comes

What are we to do until Jesus comes?

As the old hymn says, “We’ll work.”

Paul made it clear that our daily duties

We are not to shirk.

We’ll earn our bread and not be idle

Never tiring of doing what’s right.

And watch the clouds for Christ’s return

When from this earth, we’ll take flight.

“For when we were with you, we gave you this rule:

‘If a man will not work, he shall not eat.’”

“…And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right.”

II Thessalonians 3:10 and 13 (NIV)

ĕrgazŏmai²⁰³⁸ – to toil (as a task, occupation, etc.), (by impl.) effect, be engaged in or with, etc.: - commit, do, labor for, minister about, trade (by), work.

kalŏpŏiĕō²⁵⁶⁹ – to do well, i.e. live virtuously: - well doing

            As a teenager, I always wondered where to find the biblical basis for the hymn, “We’ll Work ‘til Jesus Comes”.  Now I’ve found it!  The exhortation to continue working was given because some Thessalonians took Paul’s preaching about Christ’s return to mean that it was so imminent they just needed to sit back and wait. Paul wrote to remind them that he worked to earn his keep when he was with them and taught them that they should do the same.

While anticipating Christ’s return like a child the night before Christmas, we are still to go about our daily lives earning a living, caring for our families, and most importantly, doing what is right. The King James Version warns us not to “grow weary in well doing.” I tend to swing way too far one way or the other.  I’m either so engrossed in my job that I neglect my time with the Lord, or I’m so caught up in longing for Christ’s return that I have a difficult time doing the necessary chores of life. 

Throughout I and II Thessalonians we are reminded that Christ is coming back for us and to be ready and excited about that day. However, we are also reminded to take every opportunity to live virtuously and be good workers here and now. What shall we do until Jesus comes? Work, do well, and live in glorious anticipation of the day when we will be caught up in the clouds with our Lord!

Father, help me to keep the proper perspective of life on this earth. Help me to remember that my longest, saddest times here are a mere grain of sand in the hourglass of my eternal life. Help me to support myself in a way that honors you, to take every opportunity to be a blessing to others, and to be ready at all times for your return.