It is so vitally important that we feel loved that not to have that reckoning is not much less than a sentence of a slow death. That sense of being loved is the stuff which holds all of a quality of life together. This is one of the basic principles of the Christian faith, and rightly so, and yet the love of God goes so much farther than the feeling of loving.

Saint Paul used this foundational truth in his relationship with those whom he brought into the faith. We read of such an instance in 1 Thessalonians 2.5-8: ‘You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed—God is our witness. We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else.’ The foundation of love supports every other relationship in the Kingdom of God.

Paul continues: ‘As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you, but we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children.’ What can be more demonstrative of loving that the relationship between a mother and her children? The portrayal of an abusive mother raises the hackles on the backs of all of us, right?

The Apostle concludes by stating just what loving means: ‘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.’ God loved us so much that he gave his only Son to declare that love. Like it or not, dear one, YOU AND I ARE LOVED!