Paul begins his letter by referring to the common "work of faith, labor of love and steadfastness of hope" he has with the Thessalonians (1:3). He sees them, not merely as souls to be ministered ...

8 But, since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. 9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain ...

We see His renewal in the kindness shared, the faith strengthened ... grieving with hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13), knowing that love endures and that darkness will not have the final word.