Tough Like a Father — 1 Thessalonians 2:9–12
Aug 7, 2026 11
There’s something a good dad can do that a good mum sometimes can’t.
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. You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers. For you know how, like a father with his children, we exhorted each one of you and encouraged and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory. — 1 Thessalonians 2:9–12 (ESV)
My Mum was always gentle. Nurturing. Caring. She still is. But when Dad spoke, you stopped and listened. He was never a jerk, never ungodly, never anything but careful in the way he raised us. Even so, when Dad said something, it carried a different weight, even if Mum had said the very same thing a moment earlier.
Holy, Righteous, and Blameless
Paul says something similar about himself here. He was a consistent father. A present father. A father who exhorted, encouraged, and charged, and he could say all that because his conduct toward them was “holy and righteous and blameless”. There was no ungodliness behind the toughness.
Exhorted, Encouraged, Charged
The reason Paul gets a little tougher, a little stronger in his urging here, is because there’s a purpose behind it: to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.
If we’re honest, we know that none of us is worthy of God! But, by the grace of God, we are called into God’s kingdom. Jesus makes us worthy. And so Paul calls these believers to walk differently in light of what Jesus has done to call us into his kingdom. He’s calling them to holiness, to grow strong in the Lord, to be strong as followers of Jesus.
The Good News Is…
The good news is that Jesus shows us exactly this kind of fatherly love. He was gentle with the broken and the suffering, but he was tough, even blunt, with the self-righteous, because real love was always going to call people somewhere. Every hard word Jesus spoke was aimed at drawing people into his kingdom, not shutting them out of it.
Jesus showed the depths of his tough love toward us by going to the cross. It’s only through his life, death, and resurrection that we can ultimately enter into the kingdom of God. And the call on all followers of Jesus is to now live a changed life as a member of that kingdom.
Further reading: 1 Thessalonians 2
Reflection
Pray for the strength to walk worthy of the kingdom you’ve already been called into.
Rev. Dave Miers
President, Good News Unlimited