Transformed Lives Transforming The World

1 Thessalonians 2:8 (Part 2)

1 Thessalonians 2:8-  "we loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us."

Last time we talked about the importance of love in sharing the truth of the Gospel.  My personal struggle is to remember that.  There are people that are easy for me to love and then there are others that are difficult.  Sometimes in the corporate church world it is tempting to just "do church."  It is tempting to just find a structure to operate the pieces of the church under and forget about opening our lives with love to share the gospel.  Sometimes it is tempting to lead a small group as a program.  Sometimes it is tempting to just spit out truth forgetting that the truth must be accompanied by love.

This week we talked about how important this idea is at our HomeGroup Leaders and Hosts dinner.  Without love for people in our group it is impossible to succeed in leading or hosting a HomeGroup.  No doubt discussing the truth of Scripture is part of being in a HomeGroup at Community Bible Church, but Home Groups are so much more than just sharing the truths of Gospel of God, but is about sharing our lives as well.  It is about loving the people in our group.  Even those that don't easily fit into our lives.  Even to those that might be different than us.  Even those that might be difficult to love.   

At our HomeGroup Leaders and Hosts dinner we talked about how appropriate this verse is for us to remember as we plan and pray about next year's HomeGroups.

1 Thessalonians 2:8 (Part 1)

1 Thessalonians 2:8--"We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us."  -NIV

In this passage the Apostle Paul is reflecting back on how fond he was for the people that were part of the Thessalonian church that he helped start.  He mentions two things that he wanted to share with these people.  One, the Gospel of God, and two his life (some translations say soul).  These two things are bookended by two similar phrases.  First he says, "we loved you so much".  Then he says, "because you had become so dear to us."  

Do you think Paul was ever tempted to just spit out the truth concepts of the Gospel without love?  Probably.  Do you think it is possible to really share the Gospel without sharing your life?  Probably not.  A core part of the Gospel is the love that Christ showed us by dying in our place.  Paul tells us in other places that the love of Christ is supposed to live in us and through us.  So how can we share the Gospel with them without having love be part of what we share?  

Do you think it was easy or hard for Paul to love these people?  Because people have been fallen since Adam didn't stop Eve from eating the fruit they weren't supposed to eat, I think it had the potential to be as hard for him as it is for us.  I think he learned to love people that were:  Hard headed, lazy, annoying, different, loud, quiet, shy, controlling, power hungry, rich, poor, busy, complaining, old, young, immature, too happy, too sad, insecure, arrogant.

Have you ever said so-in-so is to hard to love I just don't gel with them, then claimed they were one of the things above?  Maybe you used a different adjective to describe someone.  Who is it in your sphere of influence that God is calling you to share the truth of the Gospel with by opening your life to them and showing them love?