Thursday 13th February
Read 1 Thessalonians 2:7-9
“Instead, we were like young children among you. Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, 8 so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well. 9 Surely you remember, brothers and sisters, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you.” (NIVUK)
The apostles who planted the church in Thessalonica were not dogmatic and authoritarian in their manner. They were gentle and innocent and guided by love. They laboured hard to make it clear that exploitation was not remotely their intention. They lived the free grace of the gospel towards the Thessalonians.
The estimate of how long they spent in Thessalonica is less than three weeks. Three weeks and that is how they felt about them. They loved them like they were family even though they had barely met them. I wonder what lessons we can learn about welcoming the stranger from these brief words.
