Titus 2:11-14 (NRSV)
Read Titus 2:11-14 on biblegateway.com
Verse 11For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, Verse 12training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly, Verse 13while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Verse 14He 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.
Devotion
This passage in Titus reminds us that Christ is coming not just to celebrate with us, but to teach us and purify us. This is an opportunity to reflect upon how our own struggles for survival and comfort have left little room for the trees, seas, and animals to rejoice in Christ who is their Lord, too. Have we simply taken up too much space? What would the world be like without us? One thing Christians believe is that God would still be God for the natural world even if we were not here as a species. But as it is, we are an apex predator who have been perhaps too successful in carving—literally carving out from mountains—the resources we have needed to build for ourselves happy towns, fast cars, and warm houses. Could we fling open the doors of our hearts to the non-human world, and not just see it as a commodity to serve our own human appetites?
Prayer
Dear God, the Earth is crumbling under our dominion. Purify our minds and hearts so that we stop our destructive ways. In your Holy Spirit we pray, Amen.