Part 2: A Word from the Apostle

 

“…while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.”

—Titus 2:13-14

As I mentioned at the beginning of yesterday’s blog post, nearly everyone likes to receive letters, or emails, or Facebook posts, or Tweets, or Instagram posts, or whatever means one receives communications from his or her loved ones today. Certainly, the young minister, Titus, always looked forward to communications, just like we do today.

I also suggested yesterday that Titus particularly perked up when he received communication from his mentor, the Apostle Paul. In fact, the words that Paul wrote to Titus—along with the two letters we still have of Paul’s correspondence with Timothy—remain cherished today by God’s choice servants. We often refer to these three books in the New Testament as the “Pastoral Epistles.” Paul is teaching Titus and Timothy how to be the best possible pastors they can be.

Today’s blog post consists of the second part of a crucially important paragraph that Paul wrote to Titus. And, these are words that we should revere and welcome in our own lives this day. The passage is found in Titus 2:13-14:

…while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

As Paul concludes this important paragraph in his letter to Titus, he points us to the ultimate victory that the suffering, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ have given to us: our hope of eternal life with Him. As followers of Jesus, we are, in fact, in the process of being sanctified—or, made holy. And, God has planted within us the desire and ability to do good works in His name and for the sake of His Kingdom. We do what we do, as “Christ’s-ones” because of what God has done in us through Jesus. All that we are and all that we have has come to us as a precious gift from God.

As we begin a new day, let’s make certain we recognize how very fortunate we are that God has chosen to pour out His love on us and make us His dearly cherished children.

 

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