I was meditating on this verse: 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. Titus 2:11-14
I was thinking about what it means to be self-controlled, and then I noticed the sub-heading in my Bible which is entitled: "Right living in the church." Paul is telling Titus what should be taught to the various age groups of the church. Here's the passage that caught my eye:
Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God. Titus 2:3-5
I had to look up the word reverent in the dictionary to see if it meant what I thought it meant. It didn't. Then I looked it up in the Biblical Greek and it's even richer there.
In short, it means "a most holy thing, a saint."
Why should older women in church be taught to be saints? So they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be pure, etc. Busy at home actually means, to be a keeper of the home - a guard, if you will. And further why? So that no one will malign the word of God.
The church today, with it's focus on community outreach, team leadership and filling slots on Sunday is missing out on a critical opportunity to change the world for the future generations.
The full passage starts with older men, then goes to older women, then young men and then to slaves.
Let me ask this question: If no one's bothering to teach the older women, what happens to the younger ones?
I love this post! I feel like God has been telling me the Unstuck women have to move together, as a force together. With His power we can make a big impact in other women's lives. I am asking for Him to show me my next step, my part in this. And now I know that my part starts with being reverent in the way I live. He's already been telling me where to start with that, and your post just confirmed it. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteLove the idea of you starting a blog. Thanks for inviting me to follow you on such an amazing journey. I have already grown with amazing leaps since starting my unstuck journey. To some it may seem I have gone backwards, but in my soul I have gained a sweet comfort from the lover of my soul, that assures me I am on the right path. Your post starts with Titus 2:11. This verse bammed me a few years back. It actually screamed at me even though I had read it many times before. God knew time my heart was ready to focus on His grace. I had become so legalist in my walk with Him. It had been such a subtle process I had not realized the deadening in my spiritual walk. When I first came back to Him I was so excited, so raw, so nieve in the truth. I looked for an older women to follow, and approaching a few in the church I remember ones response was, "Oh honey, I don't have anything to offer." I can remember to feeling of confusion that crossed my mind. I continued to walk, with confusion. Always searching for the truth, from one study to the next, I gained much information. I added it together the best I could. I formed my own don't do and do list from the word. Don't watch and do watch, but I was no better at loving people. I was unaware of this for many years. Life kept me so busy, raising my kids, volunteering for ministries, trying to get it all done, trying to figure out the formula. My kids grew and married, I found more time on my hands, I realized there was no formula to make it all work, and I noticed how I didn't know how to love the unloveable. In all of this I have found that I also did not know how to love who I was created to be. I was so hard on myself. Seeking to know this Grace that brings salvation also teaches us to say no to ungodliness, I needed to bridge this gap between me and the grace of God that teaches me. This has been the amazing difference in my life. Experiencing others on the same journey, the journey of being authentic, being real, experiencing God in the exact moment of where I am. That is where I have found the peace that passes understanding. Not that it solves all the issues I am going through, but it helps me to rest in His power, knowing I need His word, His presence, to come and change the atmosphere of my soul. Revealing the lies that can rob steal and destroy experiencing His amazing gifts that He longs for me to take hold of. (No time to proof.....) Love you all.
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