When you are focused on Christ, your life will be marked by constant spiritual growth. You are always learning about Christ and you are always growing in faith. Your life is constantly changing as you become more and more like Jesus.
Paul shows his desire for your continual growth in Christ through his benediction in Second Thessalonians 3:5—"Now may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ." If you are to pray as you should, if you are to live by faith or trust in God as you should, if you are to continue in obedience to God's word daily as you should, then you need the Lord's help. You can't do this on your own power. So Paul here asks, "May the Lord direct your hearts" (v. 5a). God has to do it. All of this is accomplished in your life only as Christ in you empowers you. It is the Lord who directs your heart toward God.
It is the Lord who directs your heart "into the love of God" (v. 5b). "Direct" (v. 5b) means "make straight." It refers to the removing of all obstacles and hindrances as someone opened a pathway or road (John MacArthur, Jr., MacArthur's New Testament Commentary: 1 & 2 Thessalonians, [Moody Publishers: Grand Rapids Michigan, 2001], 297). Paul wants you to continue to grow spiritually, so he asks the Lord to clear the way so your heart, or inner person, will move "into the love of God" (v. 5b).
In other words, as you fix your eyes on Jesus, He directs you into a fuller appreciation of God's love for you (The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Volume 11, [Zondervan Publishing House: Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1978], 333) and at the same time builds your love for Him. Paul wants you to grow deeper and deeper into God's love for you, which in turn will cause you to love Him more and more (MacArthur).
It is also the Lord who directs your heart "into the patience of Christ" (v. 5c). The NASB says, "into the steadfastness of Christ" (v. 5c), while the KJV says, "into the patient waiting for Christ" (v. 5c). That phrase has a certain degree of ambiguity, which Paul used brilliantly. It can refer either to Christ's "steadfastness," also rendered "patience," as in "patient enduring" with believers, or to the believers' patience in Christ's strength, through their endurance.
Christ is patient beyond measure with your sins, problems, and struggles. Paul wants you to understand that truth. He also wants you to have a better understanding of Christ's endurance through trials. As you grow in this understanding of Christ, you will experience greater spiritual endurance in your life. Because of the patience of Christ with you and because of your growing reliance on Him, you can endure all things in Christ.
When your focus is on the Lord—when your eyes are fixed on Jesus—you will continue to grow spiritually, both in the love of God and in the steadfastness of Christ. That is Paul's message. It's all about Jesus. Fix your eyes on Jesus. Keep your focus on Christ, and your life will be one of prayer, trust, obedience and constant growth in Him. Amen.
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