What does 1 Thessalonians 2:11 mean?

Paul compares his relationship with the Thessalonian Christians to that of a father and his children. Because Paul had won the Thessalonians to Christ, he had become their spiritual father and they had become his spiritual children. Paul and Timothy, one of Paul's missionary companions, also had that kind of relationship. Apparently Paul had led Timothy to Christ at Lystra. In 1 Timothy 1:2 he refers to Timothy as "my true child in the faith."

The apostle John had a similar relationship with believers. In his letters, he refers to believers as "my little children" (1 John 2:1), "little children" (1 John 2:12, :28; 3:7, 18; 5:21), "children": (1 John 2:13, 18), and "my children" (3 John 1:4). Just as a loving father tries to protect his children from harm, so the apostle John endeavored to protect his "children" from spiritual harm. He warned them often to recognize and avoid false teachers and their harmful teachings. See, for example, 1 John 2:18–19, 21–22; 3:7–10; 4:1–6; and 2 John 1:7–10.