Titus 2:11-14 (NIV): For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope–the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
The life of a godly Christian is not one of idle holiness, but one of eager obedience. It is not enough for God’s people to avoid evil; they must actively do good to the bodies and souls of people. It is not enough for them to look like Jesus in their separation from sin; they must also act like Jesus in their self-sacrificing reaching out to the lost. They must be more than “godly” in their private lives; they must have upright and God-ly lives: lives that are like the life of God. And GOD’S life is far from passive. He is working always, everywhere, every day, to seek and to save the lost; to nurture the seed that is just starting to grow; to call the wayward back to the strait and narrow path; to heal the sick; to energize the discouraged; to empower the weak. That is GOD’s life, the true God-ly life, the life that God’s people must live if they are to truly BE His people. That is why God saves, fills, and empowers people: so that they will be a people that are completely His, eager not just to BE good, but eager to DO all that is good.
Father, thank You for saving me, and for giving me not only a future, but a present as well! Thank You for a mission that is clear, a work assignment that matters for all of eternity, and the purity and power to do all that You command. Amen.