To Encourage You

1 Thessalonians 2:7, 11-12 “We were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children . . . like a father with his children, we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God.”

Perhaps one of the many reasons that the family is under such attack today is to render as ineffective the metaphors God has given us to explain spiritual concepts.  Throughout Scriptures we see references to Christ as the bridegroom and the church as the bride. We see references to our Heavenly Father and to the children of God. The Word speaks of mothers and fathers, and brothers and sisters in a spiritual sense.  And it uses both feminine and masculine references to teach underlying spiritual truth.  So, what better way to sow confusion into what God has said than to attack God’s order for families and genders – things that God in His wisdom has ordained. 

In the verses above, Paul makes reference to two aspects of spiritual leadership and likens them to mothers and fathers and their unique roles as given by God.  It is not that mothers are exclusively those who take care of their own children, nor that fathers, exclusively, are involved in exhorting and encouraging, but that they are uniquely fitted for these primary roles.  Thus, the use of these metaphors in God’s Word.  With these pictures we see some critical aspects of what it means to be a spiritual leader, be it in the church, in the home, or in any other situation in which God has ordained that we should be. 

First, like a mother with a nursing child, a spiritual leader is to be gentle with those he or she leads. Gentle care, sincere affection, and God-honoring love are critical components to gaining a hearing with anyone we hope to encourage in the faith.  Harshness, criticism, and self-centeredness will sow discouragement with those over whom we may be in a position of authority.  Sincere love, like that of a mother for her infant child, form a foundation of a relationship in which the one being led knows that the leader actually cares about them and wants what is genuinely best for their lives.  It is on the basis of this love that a leader can best exhort, encourage, and teach others, like a father who works to exhort, encourage, and teach his own children.  It is with gentleness and loving compassion that a leader wins a hearing with those he or she leads. And it is with strength of conviction and the experience of a growing knowledge of God that those convictions and lessons can be passed on to others.  Two sides of the same coin – both critical to influencing others toward spiritual growth.

So, who has God placed in your life that you have the responsibility to lead spiritually?  Perhaps it’s your own child or grandchild, an employee, or someone you teach in a Sunday School class.  Whoever it is, how’s your personal relationship with them?  Do you genuinely care about them?  Do you want what is best for them spiritually, no matter what it may cost you? That’s the way a mother is with her own child and how God would have us to be towards anyone we lead.  And are you growing stronger daily spiritually as you spend time with the Lord?  Are you reading His Word and spending time on your knees seeking His wisdom for your own growth. And are you seeking opportunities to pass that knowledge on with words of exhortation and encouragement from lessons taught to you by the Lord and equipped by Him to pass on to others? 

May God help us to demonstrate both the love of a mother and the encouragement and instruction of a father to those we have opportunity to influence for Christ, so we can indeed “make the most of every opportunity” (Ephesians 5:16) that God has given us to lead.