Mid-week reflection

Based on Scripture Union

Day 255. Wenesday 18 May 2011

Titus, Chapter 3

Reflect....

Titus is one of the three so-called pastoral letters offering practical advice on church affairs. The letter is addressed to Titus who has been assigned to the church in Crete. Read on....

Members of the newly found church in Crete presented quite a challenge: even one of their own leaders described them “as always liars, evil brutes and lazy gluttons.” [1; 12] To sort things out, Paul sends in Titus, a Gentile convert to Christianity and one of his toughest and most trustworthy helpers. Titus has a reputation for plain speaking so is ideally suited for his brief which is to “rebuke them sharply” [1:13].

It is all too easy to be trapped by our Anglican niceness and for us to be economical with the truth even when confronted by behaviour that is abhorrent to God.  It is refreshing that in chapter 3 Paul instructs Titus to clearly remind people of their duty to be good citizens, recalling that those who are now Christians were once guilty of the same indulgent behaviour as the Cretans. Believers have an obligation to work for the common good. They should waste time in fruitless theological arguments and anyone who persists in maintaining false teaching is to be left to their own devices.

However, in taking a stand, Titus will have an awesome ally in God and it is by his mercy rather than our own merit that we will be baptised and reborn as people of God.

Re-read 3:3-7 and consider....

A child sits alone in an orphanage. She has no connection to the outside world; the only thing that awaits her is a life of poverty and isolation. One day two visitors arrive with the financial and emotional resources to provide a loving home and they welcome the child as their daughter.

What did the orphan do to deserve this transformation in her life? Nothing. Why did the couple choose her? We don’t know. But they did, and it had nothing to do with actions on her part. They simply had love to give and set their heart on this child.

Do you know how God feels about you? Like the lonely child, God comes to you today with the invitation to live with him and enjoy his gifts. That’s what these verses mean when they say you can become God’s “heir.” You can be adopted into God’s family by being reborn through the power of the Holy Spirit.

God opens his arms and his home and says, “Come to me.”

Why not accept his invitation today?

Pray

·         For the courage to confront in love those who offend God.

·         For the even greater courage to listen to church leaders who challenge your behaviour and life style.

·         Especially for the courage to reach out and accept the hand of God who invites you into his loving home.