I’m tellin’ ya…1 Thessalonians is full of good stuff!  If any of you know me well, you will know that I am a loner at heart, but once again God is reinforcing that there’s more to living the life of a believer than my on-going relationship with God through the Holy Spirit and His Word. 

In chapter two of 1 Thessalonians it says, “we loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God BUT OUR LIVES AS WELL..”  How easy it is as a non-people-person to “do what’s necessary” without allowing my interaction with others to become personal. 

As an example of how involved we need to be in the lives of others Paul writes, “…we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children…“.  “Each of you” – that’s pretty personal and individual, isn’t it?  

Well, Paul didn’t take for granted that in this fallen world we would know how to rightly parent, so he went on to describe part of what a “father dealing with his own children” would look like.  Check it out.  “…encouraging, comforting, and urging people to live lives worthy of God...”. 

So, how do you encourage someone,
if you aren’t involved enough in their lives
to know what’s going on?  

How do you comfort someone,
if you have no idea what hardships,
trials, or hurts they are experiencing?  

How do you know where, when and how
to urge someone to live a life worthy of God
if you don’t really know them?

The bottom line is this.  Don’t hold people at arm’s length.  Man, that’s a tough one for me. 

Oh Lord, You know the reasons that I struggle with this.  Help me to forget the hurts of the past.  Help me to truly absorb the fact that trusting people is not as important as trusting YOU as I endeavor to live out what You are continuing to teach me through Your precious Word.