GROUP GUIDE: I Thessalonians 2:1-8

In this passage of scripture the Apostle Paul asks his readers to remember his initial coming to them. He reminds them of several things that were true about the relationship he built with them. This passage has much to teach anyone who is interested in “Building Meaningful Relationships For The Glory of God” (North Side’s Mission Statement).

His Motivation

We discover in the first six verses of chapter two a number of different things that Paul states that he was not motivated by. Certainly he was not motivated by the attraction of a more comfortable life. Verse 2 tells us that his coming to them was “amid much opposition.” Then in verse three he states that he was not motivated by anything “impure” or deceitful. Paul wasn’t motivated by selfish ambition or pleasure. Verse five states that he wasn’t motivated by “greed” or financial gain and verse six tells us that he wasn’t motivated by the approval of people.

Paul was however motivated by two things. First, he was motivated by a desire to bring glory to God. In verse four Paul states that God had approved of him and entrusted him with the gospel message, therefore, Paul’s desire was to please God by sharing that message with those who needed to hear it. But another motivation is found in verse eight where Paul says that he was fond of these people and they were dear to him. In other words, Paul was motivated by love. It was His love of God and love of people that motivated Paul to share the gospel with these people.

His Manner

Verse seven tells us something about Paul’s manner in reaching out to these people. We see that he was “gentle” among them “as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children.” In other words, Paul was kind and gentle showing much patience. He no doubt knew that he could not afford to be brash, arrogant, or argumentative with these people. He was there to gently plant seeds of gospel truth in their lives and then pray that God’s Spirit would cause those seeds to grow. He was careful, thoughtful, mindful of their condition and hopeful for their future. Paul was gentle with these people.

His Method

Verse eight is a key verse in this passage and one all Christian’s should consider as we contemplate taking the gospel of Jesus Christ to those who need to hear it. For in this verse Paul reminds his readers that he not only gave them the gospel (which is essential for salvation), but he also gave them his own life. That is powerful. Paul states that he was more than a preacher of the gospel, more than someone that simply communicated truth, but he was also one that was willing to give his life away to people he was sharing this truth with.

You give your life away to another when you give that person some of your time. You give some of your life away when you give another person some of your attention. We give our lives away in meeting people’s needs, showing them kindness, setting aside some of our values and placing their needs before our own. Building meaningful relationships, as Paul did, doesn’t happen unintentionally. It only happens when we see the value in all people and realize that not only did God create them in His own image, but that they also are valuable in His sight. And when they begin to have value in our sight and they become dear to us, then we can decide to give them something of ourselves, investing in a meaningful relationship, and hopefully earning a trusted hearing as we share the truth of the gospel with them.

Giving our life away to others and building meaningful relationships is not something we can do with a whole lot of people at one time. However, it is something we can do with one person who needs someone in his or her life that not only loves God, but is willing to love them as well. This is how North Side accomplishes our Mission Statement and this is the way that God builds His Kingdom. May we take to heart, “Building Meaningful Relationships For The Glory of God.”