1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:13  - Until He Comes Again: Ministry of Love

People readily make sacrifices for the things they love.

Thomas Edison is known to have worked 18 to 20 hours a day.

He slept four to six hours and all the other times he worked.

But he also said, you know, I've never worked a day in my life.

I have loved all that I've done.

It was all fun, he said.

Amy and Caleb just had a newborn baby.

Congratulations, the grandparents are here.

Amy and Caleb, I'm sure they woke up in the middle of the night last night.

And we all have done it too.

When we have a baby like this, we sacrifice our sleep and money and energy and all of that.

Why? Because we love the baby.

We sometimes stay up in the middle of the night watching Netflix or reading our favorite books or something.

Well, because we love those things.

We readily make sacrifices for the things that we love.

And so it's important what we love.

Because some things are worth the sacrifice and some things are not really worth the sacrifice.

In today's passage, we see what the Apostle Paul loved and what he made his sacrifices for.

He loved Christ and he loved people.

And he made sacrifices for them.

He made sacrifices to nurture them.

And he prayed for them.

And I hope as we go through this passage, it will challenge us in what we love, what we make sacrifices for, that we put what God loves in the front and center of our life and live for them, nurture the people that God has put around us and pray for them and with them.