I Thessalonians 2:8
“Having so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us.”
Do we love people? Paul did. He uses common language to demonstrate it. He says he was fond of them. Do we like those that we serve?
Several people throughout my life have influenced me in this area. One was a coworker named Bob. He was going through a tough time. He shared some of that burden with his classes. That surprised me. After my questions, he commented, “my students motivate me”. At the time, that was foreign to me. Yet, it began to change my thinking. I learned to look at students differently. Often times behavior can either bother or delight us. I’ve have been focusing on the latter for the past 15 years.
Paul loved people. He didn’t let actions annoy him. How do we treat interruptions? Are they bothersome or welcome? This is our attitude about people coming to us. It’s almost the defensive aspect of love. Paul went further. He reached out. He would travel to cities in an attempt to infiltrate their social circles to reach them. Paul knew of the life redeeming affect of the gospel. This is taking love on the offense.
Lord, help to love more. Show us ways to take love on the offense.