“But we
proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children.” (v.7)
We all recognize the need for special care of the young in many
areas of life, including new Christians. Here in our text, the apostle Paul described
how he and his associates treated the new believers in Thessalonica: “We were
gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children” (v.7).
Paul and his co-workers, Silvanus and Timothy, were spiritual
parents to God’s family in the Thessalonian church, and spoke of exhorting,
comforting, and admonishing them “as a father does his own children” (v.11).
Like all Christian mothers and fathers, Paul desired that his spiritual
children would grow up to reflect God’s glory, but sometimes this called for
correction.
Bible commentator Albert Barnes wrote, “Those who minister the
gospel should be gentle, tender, and affectionate… What is wrong we should
indeed oppose—but it should be in the kindest manner toward those who do
wrong.”
In other words, we are to correct the sin but love the sinner, applying the correction with love. That’s not easy, especially among those we know
best. For C. S. Lewis, it seemed impossible until he remembered: “There was a
man to whom I had been doing this all my life—namely myself!”
We too need to treat others as we lovingly treat ourselves.
The Truth
“Honor your
father and your mother,
and, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
(Matthew 19:19)
