Saved For Something

Don't let the size of Titus fool you.  It may only be three chapters, but tucked into the depth of it is one of the clearest pictures of what the Gospel is meant to accomplish in our lives.

As I read through Titus this morning...one thought kept coming back to me - 

The grace of God doesn't just save us from something. 

It saves us for something.

We celebrate what we've been rescued from...sin.....shame....condemnation...from the life we used to live. We SHOULD celebrate that because Jesus stepped into our brokenness and made a way for us to be reconciled! 

The book of Titus keeps pointing our eyes forward, though. Forward to GRACE. Grace doesn't simply pull us out of darkness. It begins transforming us to reflect the heart of Christ.  Maybe that's why Paul spends so much time talking about character? 

He talks about leaders, older men, older women, younger men, younger women, families, workers, and the Church AS A WHOLE. It almost looks like a checklist, but Paul's actually describing what grace looks like when it takes root.  

It changes the way we speak, it changes the way we lead, it changes the way we serve, the way we love, and the way we treat people.

One of the things that really stood out to me was how Paul continued to bring us back to humility. And this is the very verse that brought me to dig into this book.  

For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived... - Titus 3:3

He doesn't say, "THEY were."  He says, "WE were." That means NOBODY is excluded. Before Christ, EVERY ONE OF US was lost in some way.  

Every one of us needed mercy.
Every one of us needed grace.

But our salvation isn't earned! 

Not by works of righteousness which we have done, 

but according to his mercy he saved us... - Titus 3:5

Talk about leveling the ground beneath our feet!  None of us climbed our way to God. 
None of us impressed Him enough to deserve salvation. None of us crossed some invisible finish line that made Him say, "There, now you're worthy."

It was ALL mercy....from beginning to end!

And when we truly understand that, something changes inside of us. We stop treating struggling people like projects!

Instead...
We remember.
We remember what God rescued us from.
We remember the patience He showed us.
We remember the people who loved us while we were still figuring things out.
We remember that someone prayed for us before we ever prayed for ourselves.

Humility grows where memory lives.

When we remember where we've been, it becomes so much easier to extend the same grace that was extended to us! 

I wonder how different our churches would look if we all carried the message of Titus into everyday life? 

What if we became people who weren't just known for what we believed, but for how deeply we loved? What if people saw Jesus not only in our words, but in our patience, kindness, integrity, and our humility?

That is exactly what the Church needs to become! Not just people who profess faith, but those whose lives adorn the doctrine of God. Our character should make the beauty of the Gospel visible. 

Our lives must BEAUTIFULLY display the gospel!

Lord, don't let me forget where You found me. Keep me humble enough to remember the miry pit that You pulled me from.  Help me to be gracious enough to reach back with the same mercy You showed me!

Because the grace of God doesn't just save us from something....it saves us for something.

Reader, I’m praying for you today. I’m praying that your life would become a living reminder of the mercy that found you and transformed you, and the God who still longs to heal wounded hearts.  💕