There’s something uniquely powerful about watching children stand before a congregation and recite verses they’ve worked hard to memorize. AWANA Sunday is always a highlight — a reminder that faith is passed down from generation to generation, and that the investment our church makes in its youngest members matters far more than we can see this side of eternity.
But as Pastor Josh White pointed out in his message titled “Proof of Love,” AWANA Sunday is also a picture of something deeper. In 1 Thessalonians 2, the Apostle Paul gives us a window into his heart for the people he served. And what we find there isn’t just any love — it’s a love that looks remarkably like a mother’s care and a father’s call.
Like a Nursing Mother (v. 7-9)
Paul begins with an unexpected image. “We were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children.” The word picture here is striking. A nursing mother doesn’t demand anything from her infant. She gives — completely, sacrificially, around the clock. She adjusts her own schedule, her own comfort, her own rest to meet the needs of someone who can’t do anything for themselves.
“We were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. So being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own souls, because you had become very dear to us.”
— 1 Thessalonians 2:7-8
Paul says he was “affectionately desirous” of them — a word that pictures a mother cradling an infant next to her heart. This is love that draws close. Love that weeps when the child weeps. Love that doesn’t calculate whether it’s worth it.
And notice the cost: “We were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own souls.” Paul didn’t just preach at them. He gave himself — his time, his energy, his emotions, his whole person.
Like a Father (v. 10-12)
But Paul’s love wasn’t only maternal. It was also paternal. “You yourselves know how we lived among you for your sake. And you became our imitators and the Lord’s, and so we received from the disciples very letter of commendation.” He worked “night and day” so he wouldn’t be a burden to them — labor driven not by obligation but by love.
“For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil. We worked night and day that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. You are witnesses, and God also, how devoutly and justly and blamelessly we behaved among you who believed.”
— 1 Thessalonians 2:9-10
And then Paul gives the father’s call: “That you would walk worthy of God who calls you into his kingdom and glory.” This is love that challenges. Love that doesn’t settle for mediocrity. Love that wants more for you than you want for yourself — not so you can earn God’s favor, but because you’ve already received it in Christ.
The Question We Should Answer
Paul gives the Thessalonian church — and gives us — four concrete proofs that his motives were godly: the gentleness of a mother, the labor of a faithful parent, the sacrifice of someone who refused to be a burden, and the calling to walk worthy of God.
But the message wasn’t just for the Thessalonian church. It was for us too. Pastor Josh asked a convicting question at the close: Do we have the heart that Paul demonstrated toward the people of God? Not just toward our close friends — but toward the whole family of faith?
Do we love the church the way a mother loves her infant? The way a father invests in his child’s future? Or do we love conditionally, transactionally, with one eye on what we get out of it?
Godly love isn’t natural. It has to be given. And that’s the whole point — it’s called grace because we don’t deserve it, and we’re called to extend that same unearned, unhurried, sacrificial love to the people He’s placed in our lives.
Scripture References
- 1 Thessalonians 2:7-12 — Paul’s love for the Thessalonian church as mother and father
- Deuteronomy 7:9 — God’s faithful covenant-keeping love
- John 4:23-24 — True worship in spirit and truth
- 1 Thessalonians 3:12-13 — May the Lord make you increase and abound in love