Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States - Lutheran Seminary's God Pause "Moved by the Promise" for Wednesday, 22 October 2014 - 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8

Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States - Lutheran Seminary's God Pause "Moved by the Promise" for Wednesday, 22 October 2014 - 1 Thessalonians 2:1-2 So, friends, it’s obvious that our visit to you was no waste of time. We had just been given rough treatment in Philippi, as you know, but that didn’t slow us down. We were sure of ourselves in God, and went right ahead and said our piece, presenting God’s Message to you, defiant of the opposition.
No Hidden Agendas
3-5 God tested us thoroughly to make sure we were qualified to be trusted with this Message. Be assured that when we speak to you we’re not after crowd approval—only God approval. Since we’ve been put through that battery of tests, you’re guaranteed that both we and the Message are free of error, mixed motives, or hidden agendas. We never used words to butter you up. No one knows that better than you. And God knows we never used words as a smoke screen to take advantage of you.
6-8 Even though we had some standing as Christ’s apostles, we never threw our weight around or tried to come across as important, with you or anyone else. We weren’t aloof with you. We took you just as you were. We were never patronizing, never condescending, but we cared for you the way a mother cares for her children. We loved you dearly. Not content to just pass on the Message, we wanted to give you our hearts. And we did.(The Message)
She lived the Eighth Commandment. That's what I said of my mother at the time of her funeral in 2001. Beyond the "not bearing false witness" part, I was specifically referring to the "putting the most charitable construction" part of Luther's explanation (words I learned in confirmation). To the occasional chagrin of her children who came storming home after a schoolyard spat, she would gently explore why the offending child may have acted in the way she or he did—the most charitable construction. By her words and example, we learned and grew. More than just the sentiments of a dutiful son, these thoughts are echoed by a cousin who similarly says of her aunt: "She was the most affirming person I have known."
Not out to gain favor by force or manipulation, Paul seeks to affirm God's people of Thessalonica as would a nurse tenderly caring for her children. The gospel is not some abstract concept but the giving of one's self in service to and for others.
We thank you, O God, for those who have gone before us in faith and have shown us the way to life in you. May we give ourselves in service to others as others have given of themselves in Jesus’ name. Amen
Lanny Knutson
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada 
Master of Divinity , 1969
1 Thessalonians 2:1 You yourselves know, brothers and sisters, that our coming to you was not in vain,
2 but though we had already suffered and been shamefully mistreated at Philippi, as you know, we had courage in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in spite of great opposition.
3 For our appeal does not spring from deceit or impure motives or trickery,
4 but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the message of the gospel, even so we speak, not to please mortals, but to please God who tests our hearts.
5 As you know and as God is our witness, we never came with words of flattery or with a pretext for greed;
6 nor did we seek praise from mortals, whether from you or from others,
7 though we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, like a nurse tenderly caring for her own children.
8 So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you have become very dear to us.(New Revised Standard Version)
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