Like a Mother, Like a Father

1 Thessalonians 2:7–12 (ESV)
Date: October 19, 2025
Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 2:7–12 (ESV)
7 But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children.
8 So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.
9 For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.
10 You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers.
11 For you know how, like a father with his children,
12 we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.

Introduction

Have you ever been asked, “Which do you like more — your father or your mother?”

In the Bible, God often reveals Himself as our Heavenly Father.
However, when people hear “Father God,” they often imagine a stern or distant God — someone who is strong but strict, loving yet hard to approach.
In cultures like Japan, where many fathers are often absent because of work, people may think of God as too busy to care about them personally.

We do not fully know why God chose to reveal Himself primarily as “Father,”
but one thing we know for certain is that God created both man and woman.
That means He Himself is the source of both fatherly and motherly qualities.
The tenderness of a mother and the strength of a father both come from the heart of God.

When Jesus came to this world, the Jewish people expected a harsh, judging God. But Jesus revealed the compassionate, gentle, and nurturing side of God —
a love that reflects both a father’s strength and a mother’s tenderness.

Today, through this passage, let us look at how God cares for us — both as a loving Father and as a tender Mother —
so that we can hold a right and balanced image of God as we walk with Him each day.

⸻

I. God Embraces Us Like a Mother (vv.7–8)

In verses 7 and 8, Paul says he was “gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children.”
He loved the believers so deeply that he was willing not only to share the gospel, but also his own life with them.
This reveals how the Holy Spirit worked through Paul to show God’s own tender heart.

God has placed in mothers a special kind of love — a love that begins even before a child is born. For about ten months, a mother carries her baby within her own body, and during that time, she begins to see that child as part of herself.
A father, by contrast, meets his child after birth and learns to love by recognition, but a mother’s love grows from within — it is intimate and instinctive.

This motherly affection is part of God’s design.
Through it, God teaches us what unconditional love looks like — a love that receives, protects, and accepts.

Even if a child struggles or fails, a mother’s love does not diminish. To her, that child is still precious.

God loves us in the same way.
He receives us not because we are worthy, but because we are His beloved.
His love is not conditional, but unconditional — agape love.

“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you.” (Isaiah 49:15)

This is how God loves — embracing us and never letting us go.

Children who grow up under the warmth of such love are able to see themselves positively. They learn that their worth is not based on performance, but on being loved simply for who they are.

When children go out into society, they are constantly evaluated by others.
Those who are always more capable than others can view themselves positively,
but those who keep losing in competition begin to see themselves negatively, and it becomes difficult for them to affirm their own existence. As a result, even after becoming Christians, some come to believe that unless they perform well, God will not accept them. Such people constantly feel anxious and cannot find rest. When they are zealous, they feel fine, but when their zeal fades, they feel as if God has abandoned them. If we had lived in the time of the Lord Jesus and met Him in person, we would have found peace through His absolute love.
God loves us with the love of a mother. It is important for us to know that He accepts us just as we are. At the same time, God also has the love of a father.

II. God Guides, assert us Like a Father (vv.11–12)

Now, look at verse 11:

“For you know how, like a father with his children, we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you.”

Just as God embraces like a mother, He also builds us up like a father.
God not only comforts us by saying, “It’s all right,” but also calls us to say, “Do this.” He trains and refines our faith through trials so that we may grow mature.

A mother’s love is especially vital in early life, but if a child grows up with only gentleness, they will not develop the strength to stand firm. A father’s role is to challenge, to correct, and to prepare the child for life.

A father’s love looks forward — it sees the future.
Fathers work hard, face struggles, and know the pain of endurance in a broken world. Because of this, a father teaches his children perseverance, discipline, and responsibility.

My own father worked very hard, and through his example I learned how difficult life in this world can be. Similarly, Paul not only showed tenderness like a mother but also firmness like a father — exhorting believers to grow in maturity, even through suffering and discipline.

Some Christians misunderstand and think that once they have faith, everything will go well. Because the Almighty God has become their Father, they assume He will do everything for their benefit. However, in reality, there are times when God does not seem to help them, or when they find themselves in difficult circumstances. Then they begin to doubt God—wondering whether He is truly almighty or truly loving.

God is a Father who loves us with a father’s heart. The image of an ideal father may vary depending on culture and time, but when we read the Old Testament, we can see what kind of Father God is. God loved Israel. Because of that love, He gave them the Law, and when they did not obey it, He disciplined them.
Israel was never more prosperous than the surrounding nations, and so they longed for and pursued the idols of those nations. But God strictly punished Israel’s idolatry. He trained them so that they might become a righteous nation
that would reflect His glory.

We are all born with a sinful nature. If there is no discipline or training, we grow up following that nature— self-centered and unwilling to obey any rules. Instead of becoming more like Jesus, we become the very opposite of Him. That is why our Father God disciplines us and shapes our character to be good and Christlike.

“For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” (Hebrews 12:6)

Our Heavenly Father disciplines us not to harm us, but to shape us into His likeness. He wants us to live not only successfully but righteously —
to walk “in a manner worthy of God, who calls us into His kingdom and glory” (v.12).

Therefore, let us trust both His kindness and His firmness.
God’s love holds perfect balance — both tenderness and strength, embrace and guidance.
He embraces us like a mother and trains us like a father,
so that He may send us into the world as His mature children.

⸻

Conclusion

God continues today to embrace you like a mother and guide you like a father.
To the one weeping in sin, He whispers gently, “It’s all right, My child.”
To the one who has lost direction, He says firmly, “Rise, and follow Me.”

Finally, let us remember John 1:14 (ESV):

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

When the invisible God became visible in Jesus Christ,
we saw both grace and truth perfectly united.
Grace — God’s warm, forgiving love that embraces sinners.
Truth — God’s righteous, faithful love that leads us to holiness.

Jesus was never only gentle, nor only strict.
In Him, grace and truth existed in perfect harmony.

May we also reflect that same divine balance —
to embrace with grace and to lead with truth.
To love with both a mother’s heart and a father’s strength,
so that the world may see the fullness of God’s love through us.

Loving Heavenly Father,

You are the One who embraces us like a mother and leads us like a father.
Through Paul’s words to the Thessalonian church, we have come to see how deep and perfect Your love truly is.

Sometimes we base our worth on our performance or achievements.
But You love us not because of what we do, but because of who we are — Your beloved children.
Thank You for Your grace that embraces, forgives, and comforts us like a tender mother.

You also strengthen and guide us like a faithful father.
We thank You for training us through trials and teaching us to walk in a manner worthy of Your kingdom.
Help us to recognize Your love even within discipline, and never lose sight of Your goodness.

In Jesus Christ, grace and truth came together in perfect harmony.
May we also walk like Him — with both gentleness and truth.
Give us the heart of a mother that accepts and embraces, and the heart of a father that encourages and uplifts,
so that in our homes, in our church, and in this world, we may reveal Your love.

Today again, we trust in You — the Lord who embraces us like a mother and guides us like a father.
Lead us to walk in a way worthy of Your kingdom and glory.

In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ we pray,
Amen.