This week Melanie (my wife) and I are reading through Titus, Proverbs 11-15 and Psalms 111-120. As I began my reading this morning I was struck by these verses from Titus.
Titus 1:1-3 "Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior;" (ESV)
When I was in Jr. High I only knew how to write one kind of sentence--a run-on sentence. I'd write entire paragraphs and forget to put any periods in there because I was so into what I was writing about. Needless to say my English grades were never very high. Most times I had a hard time reading what I had originally written because the red ink was so thick.
I suspect my teachers wouldn't have liked Paul's sentence here much either, but if ever there was a power-packed and rich run-on sentence this is it.
Paul is an apostle, but not for his own sake, he's an apostle for the sake of God's elect. He's an apostle for God's purposes so that his people might be knowledgeable of the truth, godly, hopeful, and eternally secure. Paul accomplishes God's purpose through preaching. No gimmicks, no self-aggrandizement, no glamour, just preaching. Praise the Lord for the power of his word.
We spend much time these days speaking of purpose. One of the best selling books and Bible studies of our day is "The Purpose Driven Life". Paul's purpose was to serve God's people, God's truth, and to testify to God's glory. Is that your purpose today?
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