Recently, I wrote on 1 Thessalonians 2:5-6 with a focus on being above reproach in our lives, message, and ministry methods. I am going to continue the same emphasis from 1 Thessalonians 2:7-8.

Paul asserts that he and his coworkers were “gentle” among the Thessalonians when ministering there (7). The Greek word used here is ἤιος and highlights the gospel workers’ patient and nurturing ways as they disciple the Thessalonians. Such a way of ministering exemplifies the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the Christlike ministry of a pastor-teacher. Paul uses the same word in his exhortation to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:24, “And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind (ἤπιον) to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil.” This is the same word. The Lord’s servants should not conduct themselves in an overbearing, heavy-handed way. Peter teaches the same truth when he writes that pastors should not be, “Domineering over those in [their] charge, but being examples to the flock” (1 Peter 5:3). In his commentary, Gene Green describes their gentleness as, “It was the virtue of being tender and considerate, concerned for the well-being of the other, instead of being severe, brusque, or hard. This meaning would fit well between the denial that the heralds imposed the weight of their apostolic authority and the affirmation that they were like a mother with them.”^[1] This doesn’t mean Paul and his co-laborers were timid or weak. They sought the spiritual wellbeing and nourishment of their hearers as a nursing mother would care for her children. Moses spoke of himself in a similar way in Numbers 11:12 when he said the LORD had expected him to care for the people of Israel as a nurse would carry a nursing child.

A nursing child is relatively helpless and dependent upon his or her mother for sustenance and wellbeing. Paul didn’t take advantage of the Thessalonians or their spiritual state. These gospel ministers sought the good of their disciples. Paul uses the image of acting as a father later in verse 11. Paul and his co-laborers were above reproach in how they shepherded the Thessalonians, caring for them as a nursing mother would her children.

The apostle says he and his coworkers love the Thessalonians and chose, not only to share the gospel with them but also to share their lives with the church at Thessalonica (8). Brothers and sisters, whether you are a pastor, missionary, deacon, or an everyday follower of Jesus Christ, it can be very easy to minister to people at arm’s length or not at all. TO share the gospel with a coworker, neighbor, or a stranger and not become personally involved in their lives is safer and it costs us much less. The same can be said about how you function in your church family. You can become personal and share your life or you can keep people at a distance. Detached ministry is easier and safer for a time. But, that is not the type of ministry Paul is describing here. Maybe you have been rejected by unbelievers when you tried to share the gospel and you don’t want to try anymore. It is a true and important reminder, “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Cor. 4:3–4). We are ambassadors of Christ. We are not the Christ who is being rejected.

Perhaps the more difficult challenge for some of us is that we have been hurt or rejected by fellow believers. This pain usually goes deeper. We expect more from Christians. When fellow believers disappoint us we can react by keeping all believers at a distance. We can become quite adept at keeping ourselves from being personal with our brothers and sisters in Christ. I am not saying we should ignore the sin of others against us or trust someone who has shown themselves to be a gossip, slanderer, or liar. I am saying that our lives and ministries should not be impersonal or at arm’s length with everyone. May God give us hearts like Paul and his coworkers so that we will have lives and ministries that are personal and above reproach for the glory of God and spiritual wellbeing of others.

^[1] Gene L. Green, The Letters to the Thessalonians, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans Pub.; Apollos, 2002), 127.