Paul The Mother, Paul The Father

But we were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children (1 Thessalonians 2:7).

Surprise, surprise! Paul has a motherly side! As a mother would care for his children, such was Paul’s care for the Thessalonian church. Paul “affectionately longs” (1 Thessalonians 2:8) for the church. Paul exhibited a mother’s nurturing character by bringing up the church in the gospel. He showed a tinge of a mother’s personal touch by sharing not only the gospel, but also his own personal life intimately because the church “had become dear” (1 Thessalonians 2:8) to him. Also, he showed a mother’s sacrificial attitude when he would rather labor “night and day” (1 Thessalonians 2:9), so he would not be a financial burden to the church.

Not only did Paul exhibit a motherly nature. He also had a fatherly side to him.

As you know how we exhorted, and comforted, and charged every one of you, as a father does his own children (1 Thessalonians 2:11).

Typical of a father’s role, Paul behaved “devoutly and justly and blamelessly” (1 Thessaolonians 2:10) as an exemplary and respectable father figure to the Thessalonian church. He also dished out fatherly discipline by exhorting, comforting, and charging the church as his own children to “walk worthy of God who calls (them) into His own kingdom and glory” (1 Thessalonians 2:12). Just as any father would want his children to walk worthily so that they would bring pride and honor to the family name, not shame and contempt, Paul longed for the very same thing for the children of God in relation to God the Father.

Indeed, Paul had proven himself to be one of the “apostles of Christ” (1 Thessalonians 2:6) who “have been approved by God” (1 Thessalonians 2:4). He played both sides of parenting for the church – the maternal role, and the paternal role as well. Not only did Paul strike a good balance in the way he took care of the church. He also painted for us a good model for parenting in our own households.

If only Paul also played the role of the grandfather and the grandmother. Oh, how he would have pampered us!

“The role of grandparents is to pamper the grandchildren. The rest is the parents’ job” – A grandparent of two toddlers.