A little while ago, I produced a verse by verse series in Philippians. I really enjoyed that exercise and have been wondering if I should take on another book. Well it turns out that 1 Thessalonians is the victim of my machinations, and hopefully, the thoughts produced by this fantastic book will edify and encourage the reader.

As with Philippians I am going to limit each post to one verse, and hopefully produce a short, succinct read for my friends who follow.

1 Thessalonians 2:7 But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children.

Paul has been battling the onslaught of rumor and innuendo, of the outright attack on his apostleship by those who have entered in among the new believers at Thessalonica.

As he is preaching and teaching the gospel to others, experiencing sufferings and persecution, he maintained his desire and care for this church.

In in effort to remind my reader of the life Paul lived as he was sent into ministry, I refer you to a a list of Paul’s sufferings as described in the book of Acts. (My thanks to the people at https://www.biblecharts.org/ in providing this free resource for the Body of Christ.)

• His life was threatened in Damascus. Acts 9:23
• His life was threatened again in Jerusalem. Acts 9:29
• Persecuted and run out of Antioch in Pisidia. Acts 13:50
• Faced possible stoning at iconium. Acts 14:5
• Stoned and left for dead in Lystra. Acts 14:19
• Opposed and made the center of controversy. Acts 15:11
• Experienced the loss of his close friend and co-worker, Barnabas. Acts 15:39
• Beaten with rods and imprisoned at Philippi. Acts 16:23
• Cast out of Philippi. Acts 16:39
• His life was threatened in Thessalonica. Acts 17:5-7, 10
• Forced out of Berea. Acts 17:23-14
• Mocked in Athens. Acts 17:18
• Taken before the judgment seat in Corinth. Acts 18:12
• Opposed by the silversmiths in Ephesus. Acts 19:23-41
• Plotted against by the Jews in Greece. Acts 20:3
• Apprehended by the mob in Jerusalem. Acts 21:27-30
• Arrested and detained by the Romans. Acts 22:24
• Barely escaped being scourged. Acts 22:24-29
• Rescued from the Sanhedrin mod action. Acts 23:1-8
• Assassination plot against him. Acts 23:12-22
• Two-year imprisonment in Caesarea. Acts 23:33-27:2
• Shipwreck on the island of Melita (Malta). Acts 27:41-28:1
• Suffered a snakebite. Acts 28:3-5
• First Roman imprisonment. Acts 28:13-15

As I read this list, and consider our verse this morning, I am astounded at the ability of Paul to maintain a caring and loving attitude through all of this opposition. He did not exhibit any sense of being a victim, or of the unfairness of life. No where do we find him describing the sufferings as unfair, or undeserving. It was his life story showing of his deep love for the Messiah, of his caring heart for the people of God, and of his desire to see others catch this love of God that had so captured him.

When he mentions that he was gentle among them, this statement represents the heart of a man truly focused on the Messiah, and His great love for the people of God, in spite of opposition, persecution and suffering.

Even as we have ventured through the last 6 verses, where Paul is defending himself against the slurs and lies being spread by those in Thessalonica, he maintains his loving care towards the church, speaking of his gentleness, even as a nursing mother.

Consider the very image of a nursing mother, how she will give everything she has for the sake of that little, helpless child. My wife and I have five beautiful children, and as I watched her cry over, love and sacrifice for those children, it brings into focus this expression of Paul.

Even as Paul makes this claim, would he be implying that this church is still as a helpless little infant, and his heart is to protect them, to provide for them, to sustain them in this barrage of hate that is being inflicted on them by a group of gossip mongering, slur spreading haters within their midst?

Paul has taken six verses to defend his love for the church against the twisted self serving message of some in the church. He fully understands that the message he delivered is dependent on his authority, on his being sent directly into their midst by the Messiah, and that the destruction of his character and the attack on his motivations towards those he preaches to is a direct attack on the message.

As a summary for these 6 verses, I would like to offer Barclay’s summary of 1 Thessalonians 2:2-7. Barclay supplies what he thinks are the slurs Paul has to defend himself against.

Although our next verse will summarize Paul’s desire for the church, this list of the attacks of those against the gospel and the apostle has been illuminating for myself, reminding me of a number of truths that should impact the believer.

• The message needs to be spread by those infused with the character of Christ to have impact those around them
• The message is not a message of arguing with the Body of Christ, but of self sacrificial service.
• To speak the message will incur the opposition form those outside of the church. It is not ungodly, though sometimes necessary, to defend your actions to those you love!
• It is important to remember that the audience we speak with may be very immature, and this is not to be looked down upon, but to be cared for, as a nursing mother over a young child

What a heart Paul had! Beyond the religious standard, he was a man that cared in spite of physical opposition and verbal defamation.

He knew the Lord.

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