August 22- Titus 2:7-8

THE VERSE

Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.
~Titus 2:7-8

THE THOUGHT

In Titus 2, Paul lays out some basic principles for godly living, applying them variously to older men, older women, younger women, younger men, pastors and slaves-- basically, cutting across the entire spectrum of human life and laying claim to all of it for Jesus.

What we see clearly in Titus 2 is that the Christian life is lived out in the mundane details of life, and it is in the mundane details that Christ will either be reviled or revered. How wives act toward their husbands and children in the daily drudgery of home life, Paul says, has the potential to commend or discredit the word of God (verse 5). The relentless godliness of men of integrity will remove all of the enemy's occasion for slander (verse 8). And even slaves (or in our day, employees) have the opportunity to "adorn the doctrine of God our Savior" in such little matters as being "well-pleasing, not argumentative."

At the end of the day, the Christian life is not about grand gestures of sacrifice or emotional mountaintop experiences. God calls us to both and blesses us with both, but where the rubber really meets the road is in the daily grind of daily life-- when the alarm clock goes off, when someone irritates us, when we are running late, when pressures loom, when temptations whisper. These are the opportunities God has given us to put Christ on display in our lives, to adorn the doctrine of our Savior.

THE PRAYER

Holy Spirit, Please help me today to live a life of relentless godliness that puts Jesus on display in the mundane details of my life. I want Him to be praised, and I want my life to belong to Him, redeemed from lawlessness, purified by grace, zealous for good works.

EXTENDED READING

Titus 2:1-15


THE QUOTE

"The purpose of Christianity is not to avoid difficulty, but to produce a character adequate to meet it when it comes. It does not make life easy; rather it tries to make us great enough for life." ~James L. Christensen
 



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