But we were gentle among of you, as when a nurse cherishes her own children.
even as a nurse cherisheth her children: Some scholars believe this phrase refers to a nursing mother and the gentleness and tenderness with which she cares for her own child. As a child might be dependent upon its mother for the milk that sustains life, the Thessalonians are dependent upon Paul and his companions for the "sincere milk of the word." The missionaries have risked their lives to provide the spiritual nourishment.