One of the greatest
privileges that a person ever experiences is to have someone whom
they have trained to continue in the faith. After giving his
credentials for the authority Paul addresses one of his students,
Titus, and gives Titus one of the most important greetings that we
can ever receive. Paul wrote in chapter one and verse four:
To Titus, my own son after the common faith:
Grace, mercy, [and] peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ our Saviour.
As we learned in earlier
studies in this book, letters were addressed differently in the Bible
than we do today. Our letters or emails generally begin with the
person to whom we are writing, but in the days of Paul, as Paul has
demonstrated, qualifications were given and blessings were often
offered before the one addressed was mentioned.
Today we learn that Titus is
the one addressed, and Paul calls him, “my own son after the
common faith:”. We do not read in the Bible of Paul having an
earthly son, but we do read of him referencing young men whom he
taught in the faith. He felt so close to them that they became as his
sons. There is a great privilege within the family of God to have
family members who were not necessarily blood born. Sometimes these
Christian brothers and sisters become closer than actual family
members, and more than likely this is the way Paul felt about Titus.
Also we notice the greeting
that Paul gives Titus, “Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior.” We shall address
them one at a time. First, “Grace”. Grace is the unmerited favor
of God. It cannot be earned, and it is given by God. Next, “Mercy.”
Mercy is not getting what we deserve. Even though we may be guilty,
God's mercy is extended toward those who will ask Him for
forgiveness. Adjoining Grace and Mercy is “Peace.” “Peace with
God” and the “peace of God” is a direct derivative of Grace and
Mercy. When God extends His Grace and Mercy toward us, we have a
sense of peace that passes understanding, and no matter what we face,
we may know that God is with us at all times.
Paul finishes this verse
with the source of Grace, Mercy and Peace. He wrote, “from God
the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior.” There may be
other sources of these benefits, but nothing supersedes the ability
of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior. God is our
Creator, and there is nothing impossible for Him. Every person's sin
was paid in full by Jesus Christ, and thereby He became our savior
and we receive the grace and mercy of God through Him. If it were not
for creation, if it were not for the savior Jesus, we would have no
access to God at all. In the first case we would not exist, but in
the second case we would not be allowed to be within the Holy
Presence of God Almighty.
Paul wanted his son in the
faith Titus to be assured of the grace, mercy and peace that God
gives, and from this basis Titus would be able to not only know the
traits of God himself, but he would be the best minister for his
church that he could be.
What about us? Have we
considered the value of the grace, mercy and peace of God for
ourselves? Do we minister with grace, mercy and peace in our speech
and ways? Perhaps our meditation today should be to consider the
valuables that God has given to us and ask Him to help us to live and
share these traits before others.
Next time we will begin to
look at Paul's instruction to Titus for the church he pastors, so
read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Look
for the new devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation” in all major bookstore sites,
www.amazon.com
; www.barnesandnobles.com
; download
to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore
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