For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at His coming? Are not even you? For you are our glory and joy. 1 Thes. 2:19-20
Dear saints, let us pray that the saints would follow the apostle’s pattern in considering the ones saved and nurtured by them as their hope, their joy, their crown of boasting, and their glory (1 Thes. 2:19-20 and note 20-1; Phil. 4:1).
Here Paul seems to be saying, “You are our hope, our joy, and our crown of boasting. Brothers, we are here only for you; we are not here for anything else. If we do not have you, we do not have anything. You are our hope, even as your hope is the Lord’s coming back. Without you, at the Lord’s coming back we shall be short of joy and glory. We need you! You are our hope, our joy, our crown, and our glory before the Lord Jesus at His coming.” Once again Paul expressed deep emotion in caring for his children. He certainly was a father exhorting his children. As such an exhorting father, it seems as if Paul was saying, “Children, we are here only for you. Without you, life is meaningless. If it were not for you, we would not want even to live.” Such a word from parents is deeply touching; it touches the heart of the children.
Would you not be touched deeply if your parents wrote such a word to you? Would you not be touched if they said that without you life is meaningless, that they are living on earth only for you? No doubt, when you heard or read such a word, your tears would flow. This kind of speaking fosters children and helps them to grow.
As a good father, Paul knew how to touch the heart of his children. If you are able to touch the heart of others, you will be successful in fostering their growth. The best way to foster others is to touch their heart deeply. (Life-study of 1 Thessalonians, msg. 13, pp. 114-115, by Witness Lee)
More details via Beseeching.org, day 380.
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