In Jeremiah's prophecy, God makes a fresh start with the few who have been faithful - the righteous branch. Living an upright and holy life is so important because these holy lives are the tools God uses to build the future. The quality of our lives today builds the world of tomorrow. Paul's prayer is that the Lord makes the love of the Thessalonian community increase and abound. Love is the only thing that prepares us for the day of the Lord's coming. Without love anything else that we do is of little value, even if it is something good. Love makes us who we are before God.

According to ancient theology, the coming of the Son of Man - Jesus - would be announced by many fearful signs. The heavenly bodies would be shaken, as would the powers of heaven. The earth would be torn by turmoil, strife, and fear. In some ways, it sounds like our own time! Since we do not know exactly when this will be, Luke has some good advice for us: always stay spiritually alert and awake and be ready to meet the Lord at any time. If we do that, it does not matter when Jesus returns - we will always be ready to go.