Today's Passage:  1 Thessalonians 2

1 Thessalonians 2:8 is one of my favorite verses, as it was our fraternity verse at Baylor:  "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 have become so dear to us."  The verse speaks to one of our favorite words at Bear Creek...authenticity.  It was not an obligation for Paul to share with the Thessalonians.  It was not because it was his "job" or even because he had been told to go.  It was his deep love for them that motivated him not just to share Jesus, but to be real with them and do life together.  Paul uses the word "delighted"...he was overjoyed to be a part of this body, even for just a short time, and to share with them the source of his hope.

If anything but love is our driving factor, we're going to struggle on this journey to be like Jesus.  A sense of obligation just doesn't provide the energy and enthusiasm we need to be a "lamb among wolves" like we talked about last Sunday.  Moreover, people will sense in us that we're only doing something out of duty...why would they want to add that to their lives as well?

But if love is our driving factor, there is enough energy, enthusiasm, hope, joy, peace...you name it, there's enough to go around!  Are you following Jesus out of love or obligation?  Are you sharing His love out of duty or out of the overflow of love He has for you?