Hey friends, as we continue exploring how to live in our modern-day Babylon, we're looking at how understanding God's mercy shapes our responses to a hostile world.
“Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”
– John Wesley
Titus 3:1-5
"Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed, to malign no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing every consideration for all men. For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy."
Paul gives us a striking command - "malign no one." In a world where harsh words and character assassination are the norm, Christians are called to a radically different way of speaking and treating others. Then he gives us the motivation for this different response: "For we also once were."
This remembrance changes everything. Before showing us what we should do (be gentle, peaceable, considerate), Paul reminds us of what we once were (foolish, disobedient, hateful). The only difference between us and those who oppose us is God's mercy. When we were His enemies, God showed us kindness. How then can we withhold kindness from those who are now where we once were?
Being gentle and showing consideration isn't a sign of weakness; it's a demonstration of Spirit-empowered strength. It's choosing to respond with grace when we could respond with hostility, remembering that we too were rescued not because we deserved it, but because of His mercy.
How might remembering your own rescue by God's mercy change those responses?
What would it look like to show "every consideration for all men" this week, especially to those who oppose you?
The way we treat others flows from remembering how God treated us when we least deserved it.
Stay dialed in,
Jonny Ardavanis