Do You Love With The Gentle Compassion Of A Mom? (1 Thessalonians 2:7-8)
GIST: Impactful Christian living is gentle, compassionate, and steadfastly devoted to sharing the gospel and serving wholeheartedly.
The past few weeks, we’ve been walking through 1 Thessalonians chapter two and discussing this picture Paul paints of an impactful Christian life. We’ve looked at the gospel-driven boldness that should move us to share hope even in the face of personal hardships. We also talked about living a life that is true, pure, pleasing to God, honest, self-sacrificing, and humble. And in all these, we’ve noted that this lofty standard is the direct result of striving to emulate Jesus Christ.
As the passage continues, we come to these beautiful verses which really seem more fitting for Mother’s Day than the week of Palm Sunday. However, the connection between the two is actually there, which is why I’m excited we were landing here anyway.
“7 But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. 8 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.”
As we consider the sacrifice Jesus made for us on the cross, His compassion and humility are on full display. On Palm Sunday, the King of the Universe, humbled Himself and came riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. He came not as a conquering warlord, but as the Prince of Peace who, though He would return one day to judge the world for sin, came first to provide us rescue from our naturally sinful selves. To secure this, He went to the cross, bore Hell in our place, and then rose again victorious over our foe (death was no threat to Him). Now, remember that as we consider what Paul’s words in 1 Thessalonians have to say about what our Christian lives should radiate. Here’s our gist: Impactful Christian living is gentle, compassionate, and steadfastly devoted to sharing the gospel and serving wholeheartedly.
I. Gentle
“But we were gentle among you…”
He starts by saying they were gentle. This word is interesting because it can actually refer to being childlike. When they came, they weren’t bullish or arrogant. They didn’t lord over them or demand their attention. Instead, they came with humility and visible compassion. From my experience, this doesn’t always line up with the public perception of how Christians live. However, though useful tools, steamrollers aren’t very helpful when performing open-heart surgery!
If that picture doesn’t help though, let me just say this. Godly gentleness should be reflected in the way we live as well. It doesn’t mean we should be embarrassed of or apologetic about the truth we bear. Instead, we should openly share the truth while love permeates how we live.
II. Compassionate & Steadfastly Devoted
“...like a nursing mother taking care of her own children.”
That’s actually what he explains when he moves into the thrust of this part of the picture. Further developing this picture of a gentle demeanor, he compares himself to… a nursing mom. Truthfully, in my childish brain, I can’t help but chuckle at the picture of Paul in this position, but I’m sure you are all far more mature than me, so you probably jumped straight to the more serious implication as presented in this comparison. And, in all seriousness, they are profound.
Though I have never personally nursed any children, my wife is a pro, and I’ve been blessed to see this special bond with all four of our kiddos. There is an intimacy and dedication in this that is unlike anything else. The nursing mother is literally giving of herself, but it’s not just physical. She is choosing to devote her time and energy to keeping this child alive, to letting them know they’re cared for, to providing for them when they are most in need. This is compassion at its finest. What the mom is doing here which we should all strive to do in our lives is loving without condition and pretext. This baby offers nothing in return (except for cuteness and cuddles), but the mom gives everything out of love. Yes, that’s probably easier with an adorable child, but that doesn’t change the reality that Paul is saying this should be how we love all the people Jesus puts into our path, all the people we’re blessed with the opportunity to share the gospel of Jesus’ incredible rescue with.
And that flows into the second observation I want to make here, too, about the nature of this compassion. In our house, we’ve always believed in an equal division of labor. Because of that, we’ve both been very hands-on with the raising of our kids. But, when it came to nursing, there was literally nothing I could do. So anytime the baby was hungry, Melissa had to be ready. She did this with a steadfastness and devotion that is absolutely admirable because that’s what moms do. And that’s how we’re supposed to love.
Now, let that sink in a bit. This is how Paul is telling us to love as Christians—with steadfast devotion, with a sincere desire to see people growing in Christ. This isn’t a love of words; it’s a love of actions. It’s loving even when it’s inconvenient, or you’re tired, or it takes you away from your other plans. And we could just leave it with that because it seems vaguely inspirational, but, praise the Lord, Paul actually goes on to give us a little description of what those actions looked like.
III. To Sharing The Gospel & Serving Wholeheartedly
“8 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.”
He says he was affectionately desirous of them. This essentially means he was “so loving” that he… well, that’s actually the cool part. He loved them so much that he couldn’t help but do two things: share the gospel and serve them in love.
I know we talk about this pretty often, but there will never be a point when this isn’t relevant. We’ve been blessed with the privilege of sharing life-changing grace with the world. I know you’ve probably all heard the comparisons to having the only antidote to a terminal illness and just keeping it to yourself. Even though I know that sounds like some kind of ploy to guilt people into telling others about Jesus, there is still so much truth in that statement…and it convicts me deeply. Paul said he loved them so much he was ready to share the gospel with them. It was love that motivated him because nothing is more loving than pointing people to the truth that can save them from the self-destructive path we’re all naturally on. Love. Not agenda. Not savvy arguments. Love. I know there is a famous quote that floats around admonishing us to share the gospel and “when necessary” use words. It’s always necessary. Our morality doesn’t save people. Jesus does.
And it is His love that also drives us to live like Him and serve others, for the cause of Christ, tirelessly. This doesn’t mean you can’t ever say no. That’s another conversation for another day. But it does mean that our lives should be filled with lived-out compassion directed toward the people around us.
Ok, I’ll just wrap up today with a long(ish)→
TAKEAWAY
If we’re going to live lives that make a difference, we should be gentle, filled with compassion, and steadfastly devoted to telling people about the loving rescue of Jesus while also willingly serving those around us with humility and grace.
Yeah. We need to let that sink in.
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