At the start of a new year, I am often drawn to a place in 1 Thessalonians where Paul is called on to defend his ministry.
He says ‘You know, brothers, that our visit to you was not a failure’ (1Thessalonians 2.1). Presumably someone had said it was a failure and Paul had to correct that view. He goes on to give us a basis for how ministry should be done and how he had gone about it in Thessalonica.
The gospel and our lives
I am struck by the intimate images he draws about the conduct of his work. Using the close intimacy of a mother for her children as an illustration, he tells his readers of the love he has for them and how this love led him to share the ‘gospel of God and our lives as well because you had become so dear to us’ (2.7). Sometimes young people can be hard to love when they test our patience to the limit, but we should notice what Paul’s love drives him to. It is not only to share the gospel, but it is to share his life with them. There is a question of balance here. Some are good at sharing the gospel but their danger is that they only do that. Others spend their time in just getting to know their young people (trying to love them) and fail to see that part of their love for their group is the sharing of the gospel. We must do both — the gospel and our lives.
