Titus 2:11-14 BibleGateway.com
This rich passage places us in the powers of grace within which we wait with hope for God’s glory. We live within the interplay of grace and hope. We respond to the enticements of hope, not by looking to the horizons of the future, but, by focusing on our mundane and grace-filled lives of the present.
The wonders of Jesus’ death and the unspeakable and unknowable blessings of God’s final kingdom all enable us to live our ordinary lives in righteous and holy ways. Jesus “gave himself for us” so that we would be “zealous for good deeds.” We hope for God’s final revelation by living “lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly.” The wonders of the heavens, the imponderable mysteries of God’s glory, live in the simple deeds of our lives.
Thus, we turn this day to the wonders of this day. We live the simple Christian (and human) virtues. We pursue love and kindness and generosity. We flee selfishness and violence and hate. We give ourselves and our lives, as Jesus did, to others. We live convinced that righteousness and love will be victorious.We live convinced that the graces we enjoy in our own lives will one day bless the lives of everyone, even the world itself. The confusions of tomorrow are held in God’s hand, while the wonders of this day fall to us and our awkward deeds of love. Drinking the beauty of this day, pursuing the righteousness and justice within it, is a good way to wait for God’s glory.
God of today’s grace and tomorrow’s hope, we praise you for the beauty and opportunities of this good day. Pour your grace upon us so that we may live righteous, loving, and godly lives, this very day. Amen
This rich passage places us in the powers of grace within which we wait with hope for God’s glory. We live within the interplay of grace and hope. We respond to the enticements of hope, not by looking to the horizons of the future, but, by focusing on our mundane and grace-filled lives of the present.
The wonders of Jesus’ death and the unspeakable and unknowable blessings of God’s final kingdom all enable us to live our ordinary lives in righteous and holy ways. Jesus “gave himself for us” so that we would be “zealous for good deeds.” We hope for God’s final revelation by living “lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly.” The wonders of the heavens, the imponderable mysteries of God’s glory, live in the simple deeds of our lives.
Thus, we turn this day to the wonders of this day. We live the simple Christian (and human) virtues. We pursue love and kindness and generosity. We flee selfishness and violence and hate. We give ourselves and our lives, as Jesus did, to others. We live convinced that righteousness and love will be victorious.We live convinced that the graces we enjoy in our own lives will one day bless the lives of everyone, even the world itself. The confusions of tomorrow are held in God’s hand, while the wonders of this day fall to us and our awkward deeds of love. Drinking the beauty of this day, pursuing the righteousness and justice within it, is a good way to wait for God’s glory.
God of today’s grace and tomorrow’s hope, we praise you for the beauty and opportunities of this good day. Pour your grace upon us so that we may live righteous, loving, and godly lives, this very day. Amen
Lewis Donelson, Ruth A. Campbell Professor of New Testament
Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
For the glory of God and to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary is a seminary in the Presbyterian-Reformed tradition whose mission is to educate and equip individuals for the ordained Christian ministry and other forms of Christian service and leadership; to employ its resources in the service of the church; to promote and engage in critical theological thought and research; and to be a winsome and exemplary community of God's people.CLICK HERE to learn how you can support the mission of Austin Seminary
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