1 Thessalonians 2:7-12
“But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us. For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers. For you know how, like a father with his children, we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.”
1 Thessalonians 2:7-12 ESV
Not all things in life have equal value. Friends who’ve watched a good film might encourage other to do so themselves. It’s not life altering, just a suggestion of something that might be nice. While a parent or a mentor might exhort or even plead with a young person to avoid certain places or people for their life’s sake or might even charge them to promise that they won’t do something or will do something of great importance. The more important something is, the more urgent the appeals tend to become and the urgency of the appeals reveal something of the perceived importance of the matter to the person speaking. Paul’s goal for these Christians in these verses as well as for us today, is that they would walk in a manner worthy of God. This is the purpose of life. This is the new lifestyle to embrace. This goal is so important that Paul uses three phrases all in one sentence, translated as we ‘exhorted’, ‘encouraged’ and even ‘charged’, to stress how important this thing is that he wants to emphasise for them to make a priority in their lives, so what is it?, walking in a manner worthy of God that shows love for others. Listen to the descriptions Paul gives for how he came to these Christians. His first picture of his love for them is that they were gentle among them, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. This is quite an imagery of gentleness. The nurture and care that one has for an infant is very gentle and compassionate. Paul genuinely cared for these people. Being a Christian is about having relationships with each other and genuinely caring for each other. Paul is urgently insistent that the Thessalonian believers and all believers, that we ourselves would live our lives in such a way that God would consider those lives worthy of God’s having called us and saved us. This is not a surface level love for them. Paul loved them to such a degree that he did not only share the gospel but also shared his life with them. We live in a time where we refuse to open up to each other. We stand aloof from others. We do not open up to others. We put our walls up and do not let people in. But that is not walking worthy of God. Paul showed what it means to be a Christian. A Christian should be more concerned with the development of personal character, growing in grace, maturing in the faith, and the manifestation of the fruit of the Spirit, than engaging in a ministry of activities however valuable it may seem to us or to others. The gracious attitude and Godly conduct of a believer is of more significance to our heavenly Father than the good works that we carry out for Him. God is more concerned with who we are than with what we do. Let us seek to walk in a manner that is worthy of our calling as children of God. May our personal character and conduct give honour to His Holy Name, for in His grace He has called us out of the kingdom of darkness into His own heavenly kingdom and glory. Praise His holy name!!!
Father thank You for this day and that we have been rescued from enslavement of sin and brought into Your heavenly kingdom and eternal glory. Lord let Your abundant blessings flow over my friend and family today. Lord help us embrace our God given measure of faith to be an encouragement to others today. Lord enable us in the power of Your Spirit, to tread each step of our earthly walk in a manner that is well-pleasing to You. Lord we pray that we may be a worthy witness of Your grace and goodness to all those with whom we come in contact today. Daddy we love you amen. Be a blessing. Love ya !!
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