Eager to Do Good

 

“…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 2:14

Most people are eager to have things in life go their way. Especially in our current society, if you ask people to set aside their own wants and wishes and give themselves wholeheartedly to doing what’s best for others, you will draw a laugh of derision or a sharp retort. Even people, who belong to a generation that sincerely believes it is their responsibility to save the world from the errors of the past, will eventually disclose the fact that there is far more self-agrandizing motivation in what they strive to undertake than they may readily admit.

But once someone realizes the gift of forgiveness that God has given to him or her through God’s one and only Son, Jesus, a new desire grips that one’s heart. The Apostle Paul explains this exciting phenomenon in Titus 2:11-14:

For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.

It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 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.

Considering what God has done for us, through His precious Son, causes an eagerness to genuinely do good to arise within the hearts and minds of “Christ’s-ones” (Christians). It comes from the ever-growing understanding of what Jesus has done for us. By the presence of the indwelling Holy Spirit, God creates within us a desire to repond obediently to Him by serving others.

The bass singer, Tennessee Ernie Ford, made the following gospel song very famous in the 1950s, even among secular people.

Lord, help me live from day to day
In such a self-forgetful way
That even when I kneel to pray
My prayer shall be for—Others.

Refrain: Others, Lord, yes others,
Let this my motto be,
Help me to live for others,
That I may live like Thee.

Help me in all the work I do
To ever be sincere and true
And know that all I’d do for You
Must needs be done for—Others.

Refrain: Others, Lord, yes others,
Let this my motto be,
Help me to live for others,
That I may live like Thee.

Let "Self" be crucified and slain
And buried deep: and all in vain
May efforts be to rise again,
Unless to live for—Others.

Refrain: Others, Lord, yes others,
Let this my motto be,
Help me to live for others,
That I may live like Thee.

And when my work on earth is done,
And my new work in Heav’n’s begun,
May I forget the crown I’ve won,
While thinking still of—Others.

Refrain: Others, Lord, yes others,
Let this my motto be,
Help me to live for others,
That I may live like Thee.

Eager to do good—that’s the new way of living that God has given us because of the outpouring of His love through His precious Son. So, we must look around us this day for opportunities to show God’s love by doing good to others.

 

Based on a blog originally posted on Friday, October 23, 2015

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