For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children. (1 Thess. 2:11)
Expanded Passage: 1 Thessalonians 2:1-12
My dad was a meatcutter. I still remember the sides of beef hanging from hooks behind the meat counter and how he would heave them onto the butcher block to prepare and divide the different cuts for packaging. It was a physically demanding job; he had broken his back in a glider crash during the war and needed a back brace to help him get through the workday. He was in the hospital more than once for surgery because of the demands of his job, but providing for his family’s physical needs was a priority.
Even more importantly, the example my father lived consistently in front of me and my four siblings was such that we all chose to follow Christ and live out our lives in a way that would honor my father and please the God he loved and served.
Paul considered himself very much like a father to the Thessalonians. He cared for them deeply, and this spurred him on to be there as both a comforter and encourager. But above all, Paul showed them what it meant to live a life completely sold out to God, and in doing so, influenced them to do the same. He set a living example.
Ask God for ways to be an encouraging example.
Marcy Burke enjoys living in Alabama, being a retired pastor’s wife, former missionary, and worship leader. She enjoys playing the piano and taking long walks with her husband, Larry.
© 2026 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
