Loving is Sharing Ourselves

 Matthew 22:34-40; I Thessalonians 2:3-8

Jesus tells of the greatest commandment in Matthew 22. It is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind and then to love your neighbor as yourself.

Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy as they write the Thessalonians seem to have this great love for their neighbors – the Thessalonians. Even though they were persecuted greatly out of their love for God and the Thessalonians they declared the gospel of God to them. Their highest goal was to please God, not mortals.

They tell how God tests their hearts to see if what they’re doing is out of the love of God or just love of themselves seeking praise from mortals. Then they further their love for the Thessalonians by when making demands of them being gentle with them, tenderly caring for them. Not only did they share the gospel, but these leaders shared themselves. Why? Because they had become very dear to them.

What a way to show love to your neighbor by sharing yourself with them. In this sharing the Thessalonians could see how these leaders fulfilled this greatest commandment. These three modeled for the Thessalonians how to live a life that pleases God and gives love to their neighbor.

In this way the leaders shared the love God had given them. Their gospel message to them was for the Thessalonians salvation not just for the flattery of how inelegantly they spoke. They didn’t stop at just saving their souls but continued to nurture them in their faith like a nurse cares for their children with their teachings and letters of instruction they sent. They treated the Thessalonians like their spiritual children. So, their motivation when they had to rebuke them for wrongs or false beliefs was like a mother wanting the best for her children.

How well do we ourselves do at loving God with all our soul, heart, and mind? Do we allow God to empower us to love our neighbor even those we may disagree with? Are we gentle and nurturing in our interaction with them and do we share ourselves – our faith, our love, our encouragement, or things that our neighbor may need? Let us follow Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy’s example of sharing the love of God as we share ourselves with our neighbors.

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