Theme of the Week: Titus
Bible Verse: For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. Titus 2:11
Scripture Reading: Titus 2:11-15
Cause and effect is one of the most basic principles of the universe. Whether it is bowling balls and pins or light switches, the sun rising, or even pressing keys on a keyboard and words appearing on a screen, life is full of causes and effects. Very few things are not one or the other, and sometimes both.
All the instruction in Titus chapter 2, what Paul writes about teaching old men, old and young women, young men and slaves is all tied to a single cause. And that cause is signaled by a small simple word that introduces a gigantic idea.
Verse 11 begins with the word “For.” That tiny little word, still just three letters in Greek, indicates that what follows is the reason for all that came before. It is the cause of all those effects, the reason why Titus was to teach those qualities and characteristics.
And the cause? The grace of God that offers salvation. God’s grace is one of Paul’s favorite topics. That it leads to salvation is perhaps one of the most well-known verses in the Bible. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Eph. 2:8-9). But that grace that brings salvation also leads to a changed life. “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (v.10). And Paul talks about the effect of God’s grace in his own life, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me” (1 Corinthians 15:10).
If we have received the grace of God that has led to our salvation, it changes us. It leads us toward being remade in the image of Jesus. We sound and act more like Him. Not the least part of this is extending that offer of salvation to all people. This was Jesus’ last act, to entrust his message of the coming Kingdom to His followers and charge them to make disciples. That mission is our mission if we follow Jesus.
Prayer: God, thank you that your grace offers salvation to me and to all people. Help me see the transformation you are bringing to my life and work alongside you to make me more like Jesus. Help me to carry the message of grace that brings salvation to all people.
Reflection: Who was the last person you told about the grace of God that brings salvation?
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