Be a role model

When Paul wrote his letter to the church in Thessalonica, he congratulated them on their faith, which had become a point of reference for the other churches. But this was no accident. The Thessalonians had fallen on hard times, and their faith had been tested. They persevered, and their faith became stronger than ever.

The other churches admired them because they knew that if the Thessalonians could get through these difficult times, so could they. When you're going through tough times, remember that you're not alone. And like the Thessalonians, your faith can be an inspiration to others.

"Always remembering the work of your faith, the labor of your charity, and the steadfastness of your hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, before God our Father." (1Thessalonians 1:3).

This can be explained:
- First, they identified with their apostles to achieve such faith. You can only go so far with strong support. And, if we seem to be stagnating, one of the reasons is this lack of a reference model.

- Then we say that they received the Word with the help and power of the Holy Spirit. Today, however, we tend to neglect involving the Holy Spirit in our missionary activities. Everything is done on the basis of our intellectual aptitudes, which we rely on a great deal.

We believe that without a model, and in the absence of the Holy Spirit, we can neither produce a reference faith nor be one. It's certainly difficult these days to find a model on which to rely, so let's use it for other generations.