After denying that his ministry in Thessalonica was characterized by flattery, greed, or the pursuit of honour and status, Paul uses three family metaphors (that of a small child, a nursing mother, and a father) to explain what his ministry was indeed like. In this, the third positive assertion, Paul likens himself to a father who instructs his children both by example and by teaching.
11 For you know how, like a father with his children,