1Thess 2:7

“Then it is right to notice, with respect to the appellation of infant, that the infant is not predicated of the silly: for the silly man is called foolish: and infant is one that has newly become gentle and meek in Conduct. This the blessed Paul most clearly pointed out when he said, "When we might have been burdensome as the apostles of Christ, we were gentle among you, as a nurse cherisheth her children." The child is therefore gentle, and therefore more tender, delicate, and simple, guileless, and destitute of hypocrisy, straightforward and upright in mind, which is the basis of simplicity and truth.”

“But another might say that the perfect man is here called little, applying the word, "For he that is least among you all, the same is great." He will affirm that he who humbles himself and becomes a child in the midst of all that believe, though he be an apostle or a bishop, and becomes such "as when a nurse cherishes her own children," is the little one pointed out by Jesus. He will also affirm that the angel of such a person is worthy to behold the face of God. The little are here called perfect, according to the passage "He that is least among you all, the same is great." Paul said, "Unto me who am less than the least of all saints was this grace given." These are in harmony with the saying, "Whoever shall cause one of these little ones to stumble," and "So it is not the will of my Father in heaven that one of these little ones should perish."”

“"But we were gentle in the midst of you, as when a nurse cherisheth her own children: even so, being affectionately desirous of you, we were well pleased to impart unto you, not the Gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were become very dear to us." "But we were gentle," he says; we exhibited nothing that was offensive or troublesome, nothing displeasing, or boastful. And the expression "in the midst of you," is as if one should say, we were as one of you, not taking the higher lot. "As when a nurse cherisheth her own children." So ought the teacher to be. Does the nurse flatter that she may obtain glory? Does she ask money of her little children? Is she offensive or burdensome to them? Are they not more indulgent to them than mothers? Here he shows his affection. "Even so, being affectionately desirous of you," he says, we are so bound to you, he says, and we not only take nothing of you, but if it be necessary even to impart to you our souls, we should not have refused. Tell me, then, is this of a human view? and who is so foolish as to say this? "We were well pleased to impart to you," he says, "not the Gospel of God only, but also our own souls." So that this is greater than the other. And what is the gain? For from the Gospel is gain, but to give our souls, is with respect to difficulty a greater thing than that. For merely to preach is not the same thing as to give the soul. For that indeed is more precious, but the latter is a matter of more difficulty. We were willing, he says, if it were possible, even to spend our souls upon you. And this we should have been willing to do; for if we had not been willing, we should not have endured the necessity. He who loves, ought so to love, that if he were asked even for his soul, and it were possible, he would not refuse it. For nothing, nothing can be sweeter than such love; nothing will fall out there that is grievous. Truly "a faithful friend is the medicine of life." (Ecclus. vi. 16) Truly "a faithful friend is a strong defense." (Ib. 14) For what will not a genuine friend perform? What pleasure will he not afford? what benefit? what security?”

“But there is no greater proof of charity in Christ's church than when the very honor which seems so important on a human level is despised. This is why Solomon's wise attempt to prevent the limbs of the infant being cut in two is like our efforts to prevent Christian infirmity from being torn to shreds by the break-up of unity. The apostle says that he had shown himself like a mother to the little ones among whom he had done the good work of the gospel, not he but the grace of God in him. The harlot could call nothing her own but her sins, whereas her ability to bear children came from God. And the Lord says beautifully about a harlot, "she to whom much is forgiven loves much." So the apostle Paul says, "I became a little one among you, like a nurse fondling her children." But when it comes to the danger of the little one being cut in two, when the insincere woman claims for herself a spurious dignity of motherhood and is prepared to break up unity, the mother despises her proper dignity provided she may see her son whole and preserve him alive. She is afraid that if she insists too obstinately on the dignity due to her motherhood, she may give insincerity a chance to divide the feeble limbs with the sword of schism. So indeed let mother Charity say "Give her the boy."”

“While Scripture is spiritual in itself, nonetheless it often, so to say, adapts itself to carnal, materialistic people in a carnal, materialistic way. But it doesn't want them to remain carnal and materialistic. A mother, too, loves to nurse her infant, but she doesn't love it so that it will always remain a baby. She holds it in her bosom, she cuddles it with her hands, she comforts it with caresses, she feeds it with her milk. She does all this for the baby, but she wants it to grow, so that she won't be doing this sort of thing forever. Now look at the apostle. We can fix our eyes on him all the more suitably because he wasn't above calling himself a mother. He writes "I became like a baby in your midst, like a nurse fondling her children." There are of course nurses who fondle babies that are not their own children. And on the other hand there are mothers who give their children to nurses and don't fondle them themselves. The apostle, however, full of genuine, juicy feelings of love, takes on the role both of nurse when he says "fondling" and of mother when he completes it with "her children."”

“There you are then; persecution had increased so much, and tribulation so much, that the psalmist was even weary of living. See how fear and trembling had come upon him and darkness had covered him, as you heard when it was said in the psalm. It's the voice, you see, of the body of Christ, the voice of Christ's members. Do you want to recognize your own voice there? Be a member of Christ. "Fear," it says, "and trembling fell upon me, and darkness covered me. And I said, Who will give me wings like a dove's, and I will fly away and take my rest?" … The psalmist felt weariness, after a fashion, from the earthly heaviness and decay of the flesh, when he wanted to fly away to Christ; a plethora of tribulations was infesting the way but not blocking it altogether. He was weary of living but not of the eternal life about which he says, "For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." But because he was held down here by charity, how does he go on? "If, though, to live in the flesh here is the fruit of my work—and which I should choose I do not know. But I am being torn both ways, having a longing to cast off and be with Christ." … "But to remain in the flesh is necessary on your account." He had given in to the cheepings of his chicks. He was covering them with the spread of his wings, cherishing his chicks, as he says himself: "I became a little one in your midst, like a nurse cherishing her children."”

“See Paul ascending: "I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago (whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows) was caught up to the third heaven and heard unutterable words which it is not granted to man to speak." You heard him ascending; hear him descending: "I could not speak to you as spiritual men but only as carnal, as to little ones in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food." Look, he who had ascended descended. Seek where he had ascended: "Up to the third heaven." Seek where he had descended: To giving milk to little ones. Hear that he descended: "I became a little one," he says, "in your midst, as if a nurse were fondling her own children." For we see both nurses and mothers de-scend to little ones; and though they know how to speak Latin, they clip their words and somehow switch their speech so that they may be able to communicate their desires through simple language; for if they should speak in a mature, grammatically correct fashion, the in-fant does not hear with understanding. Neither does he benefit. And some eloquent father, though he be a great orator, thundering with his tongue and rattling the magistrates' platforms, if he should have a son, when he returns home, he puts aside the legal eloquence by which he had ascended and with childish language he de-scends to his little one.”

“Can we not see, even in dumb, unreasoning creatures, where there is no spiritual charity but only that which belongs to their nature as animals, with what eager insistence the mother's milk is demanded by her little ones? Yet, however rough be the nursing calf's mouth upon the udder, the mother likes it better than if there were no sucking, no demanding of the debt that charity admits. Indeed, we often see the bigger calf butting with its head at the cow's udders, and the mother's body forced upward by the pressure; yet she will never kick her calf away, but if the young one not be there to suck, she will low for him to come. Of spiritual charity, the apostle says: "I have become little among you, like a nurse cherishing her children." If such charity be in us, we cannot but love you when you press your demand upon us. We do not love backwardness in you. It makes us fearful that your strength is failing.”

“Or: in honor, glory, and abundance; or: we could have taken from you and been fed, and been a burden to you. For our dignity demanded this, to take from you. "Gentle," that is, meek, not burdensome. Or: "gentle" (νήπιοι) "among you," that is, without malice, without ambition. For the one without malice thinks nothing of the sort. The expression "among you" has this meaning: in my dealings with you I was the same as you, as though I had not received a higher appointment. Here the apostle shows his tender love. Does a nurse flatter a child? Does she seek money from little ones? So too a teacher must be gentle and love those who insult him, just as a nurse loves her children, even if they beat her.”

“Then when Paul says, but we were gentle [as children] among you, he makes two points: first, that he is not desirous of human glory; secondly, that he does not wish to appear avaricious (2:9). In handling the first point Paul does two things. First, he gives evidence of his humility; secondly, he shows his concern by a simile (2:7). Paul makes the first point by saying that we were as children, that is, humble. "If they make you master of the feast, do not exalt yourself; be among them as one of them" (Sir. 32:1). Then he employs the simile saying, like a nurse taking care of her children, who bends down to an infant and speaks to the stammering child, so that the child may learn to speak; the nurse even makes use of gestures: "I have become all things to all men" (1 Cor. 9:22); "As babes in Christ, I fed you with milk, not solid food" (1 Cor. 3:1).”

“we were--Greek, "we were made" by God's grace. gentle--Greek, "mild in bearing with the faults of others" [TITTMANN]; one, too, who is gentle (though firm) in reproving the erroneous opinions of others (Ti2 2:24). Some of the oldest manuscripts read, "we became little children" (compare Mat 18:3-4). Others support the English Version reading, which forms a better antithesis to Th1 2:6-7, and harmonizes better with what follows; for he would hardly, in the same sentence, compare himself both to the "infants" or "little children," and to "a nurse," or rather, "suckling mother." Gentleness is the fitting characteristic of a nurse. among you--Greek, "in the midst of you," that is, in our intercourse with you being as one of yourselves. nurse--a suckling mother. her--Greek, "her own children" (compare Th1 2:11). So Gal 4:19.”