A Self-Giving Love
“So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.” (1 Th. 2:8)
In The Princess Bride, Miracle Max coats his miracle pill with chocolate coating because “the chocolate coating makes it go down easier.” Every parent knows exactly what they mean, and so does every Christian. How the message is delivered is as important as the message itself. Or as Neil Postman noted many decades ago, “The medium shapes the message.” For Paul, he envisions no chocolate coating; instead, he aims for love.
Look at our passage. Both ends are coated with love – “being affectionately desirous” and being “very dear to us.” Paul genuinely loves these people. He doesn’t operate under the mentality of, “Well, I love them, but I don’t like them.” This distinction does not exist in the Christian life, for it turns the very definition of love into a matter of indifference. For love to be true, love must be self-giving. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son.” Or “Jesus loved me and gave Himself for me.” During Hurricane Katrina, men and women wouldn’t share even bags of ice with one another because self-love reigned supreme. If we won’t share ice without love, do you think we’ll share the gospel without love? Of course not! Whether you are a pastor or in the pew, do you have deep love for one another? Whether you are at work or at home, do you have deep affection for those around you? We cannot use the excuse that they are different or that they sin differently. We couldn’t be any more different than God and His righteousness, yet He freely loved us. Those in our care must “become very dear to us.”
Between this love is the gospel: to share the gospel of God and our own selves. Our lives must match our lips. Paul proclaimed the gospel that Jesus loved us and gave Himself for us; therefore, Paul patterned his life accordingly. His way of life would serve as a megaphone for his words. He would lay no obstacle before these people – not his apostolic privilege, not his greed, not his glory. He would be poured out that they would be nourished, he would be emptied that they would be filled. As Charles Spurgeon would say: “There is no lamb in all Thy flock I would disdain to feed.” But what of us? When others see us, do they see the gospel standing on two legs? You know, the devil could proclaim the holiness of Christ while living an unholy life (Mark 1:24). Let that never be said of us! Let us give of our very selves that the gospel may go out in holiness.
