1 Thessalonians 2:8

“even so, being affectionately desirous of you, we were well pleased to impart unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were become very dear to us”

“Even so”. “Having thus. fond affection for you” (NASV).”Being affectionately desirous of you”: “Loved you dearly” (Tay). “Yearning after you” (Rhm). “A term of endearment” (Robertson p. 19). “The figure of the nursing mother is continued. She is not satisfied with nursing the child, but interests herself affectionately in all that concerns it” (Vincent p. 25). “What. powerful combination: here is the true gospel combined with the most affectionate presentation! It is very well possible that there is. bit of irony in this expression, as if Paul wanted to say, ‘Those who slander us are saying that we were out to get you; well, they are right, we were indeed yearning for you, but the purpose was not to take something from you but to share something with you'” (Hendriksen pp. 64-65).

Here we learn why Paul and his companions were so successful in teaching. They took. genuine interest in those they spoke to and converted. If we are going to be successful at reaching people with the gospel, then we must love the people that we preach to, more than loving to preach to people. Evangelism starts with unselfish service and placing the needs of others ahead of our own.

“We were well pleased”: “It was my joy” (Con). “The turn of phrase points us to what was actually done rather than contemplated. The verb is in the imperfect,. continuous sense, and the implication is that this was no passing whim. Throughout their stay at Thessalonica they had been happy continually to be giving to their hearers” (Morris p. 79). Carefully note that Paul really enjoyed sharing the gospel with others. To him it was not drudgery or. mere duty, or something simply to check off the list. “But also our own souls”: (Matthew 20:28; 2 Corinthians 12:15). “Far from using them to minister to himself, he gave himself to minister to them. Some Christian leaders become both self-centered and autocratic. We all need to cultivate more, the gentleness, love and self-sacrifice” (Stott p. 52). “Because ye were become very dear to us”: Something is wrong when we do not have warm affections towards our brethren (1 John 4:20).