Listen

We didn’t ask for special treatment from people—not from you or from others— although we could have thrown our weight around as Christ’s apostles. Instead, we were gentle with you like a nursing mother caring for her own children. We were glad to share not only God’s good news with you but also our very lives because we cared for you so much.

1 Thessalonians 2:6-8

Think

Unless you have been hiding under a rock… which I’ve thought about doing… you know elections in the U.S. are coming up soon. Political ads consume television, candidate signs are strewn throughout yards, and people eagerly tell you exactly what they think on social media. I don’t know about you, but I’m about ready to just turn it all off. Even if someone does have something to say, I don’t want it thrown in my face. It’s often the way the messages are conveyed that makes them so unnerving.

In today’s verses, Paul tells the early church at Thessalonica that when he and his helpers shared the good news with the people there, they did so gently like a loving caretaker and they invested in the people’s lives.

Likewise, if we want to share the good news, we must do so with love. We should listen to people, genuinely caring for them and allowing them to see us honestly – as imperfect people in need of God’s grace. Then we can share the good news and truly be heard.

Stella Perrin

Pray

Loving God, thank you that someone shared the good news of Jesus with me. I know that you desire all people to know you and be transformed by your grace. Help me to see all people through your eyes of love. Give me courage to share the good news through gentle and caring words and deeds. Amen.

Go

Go,

Offering yourself fully to God, faults and all,

Believing that God loves you without reservation,

As you seek to love God and the world with all that you are.