1 Thessalonians 1:6-8 And you became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost.… The leisure of Caesar was spent in reading the history of Alexander the Great. Upon one occasion his friends found him bathing the book with tears. In deep concern they asked him the reason why he wept. The reply was, "Do you think I have not sufficient cause for concern, when Alexander at my age reigned over so many conquered countries, and I have not one glorious achievement to boast?" So the lives of the apostles and early saints may well be studied by us who are Christians, that we may be fired by their exploits to do greater deeds for God; and we should mourn bitterly when we compare our small achievements with His whom we call Master and Lord, and who, before He had attained the years of middle manhood, had performed deeds at which the stoutest frames might quake and the most faithful soul might blush. Comparisons such as these would first stir our gratitude that such an example has been left us, and then fire our valour, that at the end our lives might not be mere empty names, but such as men might gaze upon with admiration, and seek to copy. Parallel Verses KJV: And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost: |
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