Here is a tale of two cities: 1) Thessalonica rejected the truth. ‘Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures…saying, “This Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ”…But the Jews who were not persuaded, becoming envious, took some of the evil men from the marketplace, and gathering a mob, set all the city in an uproar’ (vv. 2-3, 5 NKJV). 2) Berea received the truth. ‘Paul…went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. Therefore many of them believed, and also not a few of the Greeks, prominent women as well as men’ (vv. 10-12 NKJV). This is not just a tale of two cities but two mindsets. An open mindset and a closed mindset. A closed mindset says, ‘I believe I know all there is to know about this subject,’ and an open mindset says, ‘I’m grateful for what I know, but I believe there is more to know.’ But a word of caution! Just because a speaker says something doesn’t mean you should accept it without question. A leader who seeks to honour God won’t be offended when you question what they say. The Bereans ‘received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.’ Whose teachings were they checking out? Paul’s, the author of half the New Testament! So the word for today is – always be open-minded.
