<p>2:8 <em>So, affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us</em>- As explained on :7, this affection or 'yearning' (Gk.) was because he really considered them to be his own children, for whom he would die. It is one thing to impart the Gospel to someone. It is another to give your soul to them, because you truly love them. I suspect we have all been guilty of merely imparting the gospel, without the heart that bled within Paul. They are two quite different things. Imparting knowledge, inviting to meetings, distributing books&hellip; is not the same as giving your soul. The AV of this passage says that Paul was &ldquo;<em>willing</em> to have imparted unto you&hellip; our own souls&rdquo;. There may be a connection back to Rom. 9:3 (see note there), where in the spirit of Moses, Paul says that he is theoretically willing to give his eternal place in the Kingdom for the sake of his hearers&rsquo; conversion- even though he had learnt from Moses&rsquo; example that God will not accept such a substitutionary offer. To give your life, to impart a Gospel&hellip; is one thing. But to so feel for others that you would let them go to the Kingdom rather than you&hellip; this is love. No wonder Paul was so compelling a converter. There was such an upwelling of thankful love and reflected grace behind his words of preaching. The Thessalonians became so &quot;dear to us&quot; over just two or three weeks, and we wonder exactly how many contact hours they had with Paul during that period, given the demands of family and secular life, and Paul's need to work night and day to support himself (:9). But he fell in love with them, and treats them as his beloved babies; despite their weaknesses of understanding and behaviour. For he had to warn them: &ldquo;Abstain from fornication&rdquo; (1 Thess. 4:3), and he had to teach them that when a believer dies, that is not the end, he will be resurrected at the last day (1 Thess. 4:13). 1 Thess. 5:14 clearly states that there were amongst them the &ldquo;disorderly&hellip; fainthearted&hellip; the weak&rdquo;. But moral and doctrinal weakness need not get in the way of a yearning love for our brethren because they all the same are committed to the Lord Jesus. Paul's example with the Thessalonians is a great example of this.</p>