Paul was overjoyed! He had sent his disciple, Timothy, back to the city of Thessalonica to check on the church they had recently planted there. And Timothy had returned with amazing news!

First, the background: Paul had spent only a short time in Thessalonica, establishing a community of Christ-followers, before an angry mob opposed to the gospel chased him off. Paul knew the deep challenges that the new Christians faced there in his absence, living in a culture that was deeply opposed to Christianity. He wouldn’t have been surprised if everyone had gone back to their former ways of life in Judaism or Greek tradition.

But Timothy came back with a report that the new Christians in Thessalonica were standing firm despite the challenges. They remained full of faith in Jesus. They even longed to see Paul again!

That doesn’t happen by accident. The God who raised Jesus from the dead also brought these people to life in him, and he kept them there. You might say that every standing-firm, new Christian was an ongoing resurrection story, a new creation, proof that God was up to something big: the renewal of all creation.

If anyone is in Christ, as Paul says in 2 Corinthians, there is a new creation. The old has gone. The new has come!