… was that you might put in order what was left unfinished …
Summary: Paul’s trust in Titus tells us something about both men. God’s trust in both of them says even more.
As we continue our journey through Paul’s letter to Titus, my respect for Titus as a coworker in the Lord grows stronger. The man was a worthy helper for Paul’s work in starting churches for Jesus.
Imagine for a moment that you have decided to follow Paul on his journey. You are looking forward to seeing Paul work and learning more about Jesus from him. You enjoy helping him as you are able, and you are amazed by his energy and devotion to Jesus.
Now imagine that one morning Paul takes you aside. “Titus,” he says, “I need you to stay here in Crete.”
Maybe you signed up for this, and maybe you didn’t. The fact that Titus stayed says a lot about him. It tells us that he is a man capable of standing on his own. It suggests that his relationship with Jesus was personal, strong, and mature. He was not afraid, at least not to the point that he wanted to quit and go home.
Then there is Paul’s view of him. Paul is on a mission from God. Literally. Paul’s mission has expanded. It began by announcing the Gospel of Jesus to the Gentiles and now includes organizing churches for the new believers.
Paul needs to be in two places at one time. Paul has moved on to Nicopolis. We don’t know why, but we know that Paul did not take these decisions lightly. He needs someone to stay in Crete and finish the work he had started. Titus is with him and knows his teachings about Jesus and the Church.
In Titus, Paul has a carbon copy of himself. He can leave Titus in Crete and trust his judgment when it comes to choosing people to lead the local churches. This alone says a lot about Titus. Titus had maturity and discernment. He would be able to pick people who had a heart for the Lord and the skills necessary for leadership.
Titus must have had one more quality that was needed, too. Titus had vision. Paul instructs him to “put in order what was left unfinished.” Titus could not do that if he did not know what the finished product should look like.
Finally, I would add that God trusted Titus, too. If he could not rely on Titus he would have kept Paul there to finish the job.
Application: When God gives you a challenge that might seem impossible, trust Him.
Food for Thought: What is unfinished in your life that God wants you to be working on?
Given the personal nature of today’s question, I should probably be the first one to comment. 🙂
I don’t mean to be nosey! I think the question is meant to be kind of generic. Or maybe it is just something to think about.
In my own life, I have recently become involved in a correspondence with a family member that I have not talked to in years. It is like a door has opened and something that was unfinished now has a chance to be resolved. With God in my heart, it makes bridging the years and other gulfs between people possible.
I think we all have a variety of issues which the the prompts us to examine in our lives through a variety of means. We evaluate how we can become more like Him and more fully reflect His glory and conform our testimony, witness, and thoughts, hearts, priorities, actions, and use of time and resources of which He has given us stewardship to honor Him more fully and make the most effective use of the gifts, talents, insights, and position in His body which we occupy.
There are certain doors or windows of opportunity which we test, and ask God’s guidance and direction in order to know whether or not this is an area, task or relationship which is the most optimal use of our time and resources, as well discerning if this is something we believe God may be leading or calling us to do.
The amount of time and confirmation which is required for forward movement on our part is most likely related to the level of commitment of time and resources required to be involved in the particular task, ministry or calling at hand.
It is the closeness of our walk with the Lord, and our faith in His care, provision, guidance and assurance along with wise counsel from other mature believers which determines both the pace and level of involvement.
For some of us an attempt to make an impact may be more or less difficult depending on the amount of time, resources, experience we have available. Other factors such as competence in the skills, attitudes, and relationship building required or access to the resources or a network which might be interested in making available may be relevant based on the opportunity at hand.
I will give one illustration. I know of a young man who was given an opportunity to caddy at a certain pro-amatuer golf tournament. As chance or providence would have it he ended up being a caddy for Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft. The young man sought nothing but to do his best and did not expect any kind of remuneration from Mr. Gates. He was not tipped or rewarded during the tournament.
However, unbeknownst to the young man Mr. Gates had asked someone to inquire about the background and future opportunities sought-after by his caddy.
A short time after the tournament a representative from a very prestigious engineering school showed up and presented the young man with a fully paid 4 year scholarship plus living expenses to their institution of higher learning.
I would venture to say this was a life changing event for this young man.
However, the amount of wealth it took to provide this gift in proportion to the assets of the individual making the gift was all but inconsequential.
I am relatively certain virtually all of us are called to make an impact with the resources we have available in time, talent, and finances.
Our provider owns it all, which is considerably more than Mr. Gates possesses, and He is in f I ll control of who has the stewardship of various resources at various times and is fully able to supply all the needs in order to accomplish His purposes.
Right now He is just looking for people whose hearts, minds and lives are fully devoted to Him. I believe He will provide each of them with the resources they need to fulfill the purposes the Lord has for them in building His kingdom. As we seek to share the gospel and make disciples of those who embrace it and their relationship with the Savior and His body we can be confident our leader always knows the best path and will both enable us as well as provide whatever we truly need. May He be praised!
Thank you, Jeff!
I appreciate you sharing your thoughts!
Thank you for the devotion and the question. I am going to let this question ruminate for a while.
What is unfinished in your life that God wants you to be working on?
Philippians 2:13, for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.
What a wonderful time we are living in. It’s like God has picked this time to call all faithful believers to Him for major upgrades. We can either look to Him for security and growth or join the increasingly confused, uncertain world around us.
I’m living with a ticking time bomb in my body, (2, aorta aneurysms, both past the time to operate point of growth) and was scheduled for surgery at the same time news of this virus situation became known. Surgery has been canceled now for the second time in nine months, ICU issues. The doctors have now set me up to check back with them again in August. We slept in separate rooms for awhile so my wife would not wake up to a dead body beside her. Eventually we went back to one bed and for awhile my wife would touch me when she woke during the night and in the morning to see if my body is still warm or was it cold. We have had many deep discussions and have agreed trusting God, who has brought this to our attention is the best course of action.
God has helped us know this is all in His hands and we now focus on living every moment we can growing in our faith, living in His will, letting God be sovereign and love for each of us as He has determined to be best. Todays difficult times in the world have no effect on us as we seek to live in but not of this world. God is with us each day as we study His word for at least 2 hours, walk together and share what we learn each afternoon, and serve each other as often as we can and live in a quiet peaceful way.
With everything going on, I believe God is wanting both of us to work on our faith which is what we are doing.