Morsel #1

1 Thessalonians 2:8 (New International Version)

"We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us."

I have this verse hanging on the wall in my office. I look at it nearly every day. It is something of a tuning fork for me. I want to be in ministry because I love people so much. Not because I'm good at it. I wonder sometimes if pastors just keep doing ministry cause they don't know if they can do anything else, not because they don't want to do anything else. There's a difference. The beginning of this verse sounds a little something like John 3:16...sounds like Paul ripped it off from John. "For God so loved the world..." That is what drove him in ministry. I want that to be the compelling cause for me as well.

I sometimes struggle with being "de-lighted" (snuffed out) by people instead of delighted by people. My fire goes out and I get dutiful in my relationship with others. I want to stay delightful and resist the dutiful ministry model (safe, but sorry).

" not only the gospel, but our lives as well..." I'm convinced that there is nothing as precious as our story. Sharing the story of God without sharing your own story can be an impotent transfer of life. The Scriptures bear witness to this fact. We recieve God's truth through narrative or letters. It keeps the gospel alive. God didn't share himself with us with a document like the Constitution or an Encyclopedia...he shared thousands of stories and somehow it's really one Big Story of God. And make no mistake, if you say you're going to share your life...it does no good lest you share the whole of it, not just the comely facets that will impress people. People need to see the raw places exposed and the deepest questions posed. I don't want to share God and hide myself. I want to share the gospel and my life...a potent combination.

"because you had become so dear to us." People rarely have dear friends anymore. Kindred spirits are few and far between. I want to share so much of myself and gleen so much from others that I can hardly bear the thought of living without them. I want to shed tears like Paul did in Acts 20 when he embraced the church on the shores before boarding the ship. I think it said something like, "what hurt them the most was his statement that they would never see his face again..." What would it be like to have that kind of relationship with your congregation? I want to find out.

This verse serves as a bedrock for me in ministry.