Reflections Devotional                  "Tradition"  

I fiddle with my computer. I look out the window. I think about the load of laundry I could put in the washer. These reactions are signs that I’m having trouble with this Scripture. 

I struggle with the part about “stand firm” and “hold fast to the traditions” (2:15). My first thought is negative; I think of all the times people hold traditions simply for the sake of tradition. Many examples come to mind. The church picnic is always the first Saturday in June. The worship service always follows a particular order. You can probably compose your own list. In some cases, “holding fast” seems to be a hindrance, not a blessing; a constriction, not a creative movement of the Spirit.

But Paul isn’t calling the Thessalonians to hold to particular local-church practices. The believers are called to hold fast to the tradition of the gospel, the stories of good news of God’s deeds. It’s not tradition simply for tradition’s sake but holding fast to the ever-creative work of God through Christ. That is what remains. They can hold fast to this because it is unchanging. 

As we mature and grow older, we learn to fit the two images on the same screen—a God who cares enough for us to lay down the law but forgives us when we fail to keep it.