The Way of Christ's Servant

1 Thessalonians 2 has to be one of my favorite chapters in the Bible. I love it because it teaches me much about being a servant of Christ. Consider the following observations: 1. Though persecuted, even shamefully treated the servant of Christ continues to proclaim Christ to those who need to hear this good news. Personal safety and comfort do not carry the day for Christ's servants. 2. The servant of Christ has boldness in God. There is a confidence that God will take care of His servants who are faithful to their calling. 3. The servant of Christ has a calling. There is a sense that God has placed them into service - approved by God, entrusted with the gospel. There is also a sense that all they do, they do under the gaze of God. Paul continually says, "God is witness". 4. The servant of Christ seeks to please God above all. Pleasing man is not his first motivation, nor is the desire for more (greed), nor glory, nor power. 5. The servant of Christ is gentle, like a nursing mother, who exercises abundant care for her children. Like a mother, the servant is willing to lay down her life, not just speak words from a distance. 6. The servant of Christ demonstrates the affection of a father as well. Seeking not to be a burden on others the servant lavishly pours out on others encouragements, exhortations and admonitions. 7. The servant of Christ realizes that his message is not his own. The word that the servant shares is from God. Those who accept it are accepting God. Those who reject are rejecting God. The servant is merely the means of delivering this precious message that has the power to change lives. 8. The servant of Christ considers those to whom they are ministering their joy and glory. As they consider the future, their greatest hope and delight will be found in seeing others come to know Christ and eventually join them in the heavenly city. May the Christ who converted Paul and then empowered him for this kind of ministry, work in all of us in the same way. May our service to others on behalf of Christ display a similar kind of character.