A Strange Collection of Ordinary Things

Dan Harper September 05, 2026 4 4

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1 Thessalonians 5: 12–28 (NIV-UK)

12 Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. 13 Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. 14 And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. 15 Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt 21 but test them all; hold on to what is good, 22 reject every kind of evil.

23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.

25 Brothers and sisters, pray for us. 26 Greet all God’s people with a holy kiss. 27 I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers and sisters.

28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

Did you know that an average smartphone can contains around 75 elements?

Gold, copper, lithium, silicon, aluminium, tin, various rare earth elements and all sorts of other things are squeezed together into something small enough to lose down the side of the sofa.

And yet, not one of those things is a phone. A lump of copper cannot send a WhatsApp message. Lithium won't show you tomorrow's weather. And shouting at a piece of quartz is unlikely to call your nearest and dearest.

The phone becomes a phone when all these different things are brought together in a very special way.

In our reading from Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians, it appears that a Christian community functions in much the same way. Different people, different gifts, all coming together to make that community thrive in the work of the Kingdom of God.

And this isn’t just true for community; it is reflected in our individual faiths too. Our faith isn't expressed by one grand gesture, one perfect prayer, or one wonderful act of kindness. It is made from all the little things, gathered into a life lived. And somehow, through this strange collection of ordinary things, God's love gets communicated.

Prayer:

Dear God,

Take all the different parts of our lives and use them together to express your love, your peace and your hope in the world.

Amen.