Morning Devotion for the Season of Lent
March 7, 2025
Invitatory
Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
1 Titus 2:11-15
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly, while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ. He it is who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds.
Declare these things; exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one look down on you.
Meditation-Rebecca Northington
In Titus 2:1-11 Paul counsels Titus on how to govern the people of the Church in Crete: the older men, the older women, the younger women and younger men and the slaves. He asks that they be “Reverent in behavior” and “self controlled”, “to show complete and perfect fidelity, so that in everything they may be an ornament to the doctrine of God our Saviour.”
And then he goes on to include this section which we read for today’s meditation. The first paragraph reads eloquently and predictably from verses 1-11. But this last sentence “Declare these things; exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one look down on you”, I believe to be meant for not only Titus, but for all of us. And what does it mean?
Do we exhort? Do we reprove? How do we feel about our faith in the larger secular society? It is a fascinating mandate and one that gives me pause, and yet certainly I am an evangelist. It seems to me that we all pick and choose what parts of scripture we are comfortable hearing and digesting. In Leviticus 19:17 we are told to “rebuke our neighbor”, so as not to be a party to their sin. 1 Timothy 5:19-20, Paul tells us to “Do not admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear”. Galatians 6:1 Paul says “Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted”.
Yesterday morning at RYG Bible Study we talked about Lent and the temptations that Jesus faced in the wilderness. We talked about our own temptations and flirted with the idea that we can be self-governing, disciplined in our reverence for God, but unsure where that line is between doing right by God, and submitting entirely to God’s will. I think the text I am stuck on points to just this tension. We can try to figure out how to live a holy and devout life, thereby ensuring our salvation; but are we allowing ourselves to be vehicles of God’s will? Do we hold those people accountable who in our own society, community, nation and world break the rules, sin against mankind and God? Do we rebuke them publicly? Or do we instead become complicit in the sin by our silence? I Believe it’s fair to say that many of us have become seduced by the comfort of the shadows. We do not speak up on God’s behalf. We do not subordinate ourselves and accept the consequences of truly following Christ.
Maybe this Lent as we give up chocolate, social media, or shopping, we can also take on the responsibility of truly serving and loving God. The God who truly loves, forgives and restores us. “Let no one look down on you”; be not afraid, God is with you.
Prayer
Almighty God, whose beloved Son willingly endured the agony and shame of the cross for our redemption: Give us courage to take up our cross and follow him: who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen
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