the power of the gospel

1 Thessalonians 1:4-10

Paul is encouraged by the faith that the Thessalonian Christians are living out and by their response to the good news message of Jesus. What made it especially encouraging to Paul was that the gospel came with power, the Holy Spirit and deep conviction and that the Thessalonian people welcomed the message even though it brought them suffering and persecution - a testament to the deep conviction of their faith. The story of their acceptance of the gospel and the change it brought in their lives (from idolatry to service of the living God) has spread through out the region and through out the Roman world so that where ever Paul visits, the story has already been told.
Paul's theology comes through in this passage, saying that he knows that God chose them because of the power and results of the good news message of Jesus. I find this theme over and over in Paul's writings: that God chose people to respond to the message of Jesus. This is a difficult theology for me to accept and yet it seems so evident in the Scripture. It is difficult for me because no matter how you try to dance around it, it means that God not only chose some for salvation, he also chose some for destruction. I know that all of this is for God's glory but it is hard for me to understand how this brings glory to him (or more glory to him than the "free will" view point). I sometimes come close to seeing God's glory in predestination but just as I am about it grasp it, it slips away. I can't help but tend toward that view though based on the words of the Bible.
Beyond the theological and intellectual challenge of predestination, this passage contains a practical or lifestyle challenge for me: have I accepted the gospel with the same life changing results as the Thessalonians? This is a bit of a hypothetical question because I made a decision at a young age to follow Christ and I have grown up in the Christian sub-culture so it's hard to say that my life radically changed with the good news message of Jesus but I can say that my life is radically different because I received it. I know my tendency toward sin, I know my own short comings and I know the dark, putrid evil of my own heart. While I may not act as evil as others, it is only the restraining work of the Spirit (and perhaps a lack of courage - a good thing in this case) that holds me back because I have thought on and treasured unspeakably evil desires in my own heart. I can't even imagine what my life would look like apart from the Spirit's guidance and protection. For me, then, my response to the gospel has not brought about a dramatic change in my actions but is bringing about a transformation of my desires. This may not be as "sexy" in a testimony but it is no less real and I believe that my transformation can be used by God to influence others just as powerfully as the testimony of the Thessalonians. I believe this because it is all about God's power and not our stories.