1 Thessalonians 2:7-8 But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherishes her children:… One of the most beautiful of the legends of classical mythology is that of Pygmalion the sculptor, who became so passionately enamoured of a statue of his own creation that he implored Heaven to bestow upon it life. As the story goes the prayer was granted, and the beautiful image that his genius had evoked from the rude block began to show signs of vitality. The cold marble grew warm as the life blood began to course; the hueless cheeks gradually glowed with a modest blush; the dull, expressionless eye gave back an answering glance to the artist's ravished gaze; the rigid tresses relaxed into a silky softness, and waved with a golden sheen; the stony bosom heaved with deep-drawn breathing, and reciprocated the passion of that to which it was clasped until at last the fair creature stepped down from her pedestal to be the bride of him who had loved and prayed her into life. There is a lesson for us, as Christian workers, in this old world fable. We must love the souls we would quicken. Love must be the inspiration of our prayers. It is so loving and so praying, with the arms of our affection and our faith around the objects of our solicitude, that we shall sooner or later witness the result on which our hearts are set, and behold them "alive unto God." (J. Halsey.) Parallel Verses KJV: But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children:WEB: But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother cherishes her own children. |
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