“But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” Titus 3:4-7

Good Works

I woke up this morning and asked God where to go in His Word, and He said, “Titus.” As I read these verses, I felt a peace settle over me—there’s been a ton of work going on in our household lately: my husband’s been very busy with a variety of projects at his job, as I’ve been at mine, and we’ve had a family member staying with us for a couple of weeks requiring multiple trips out of town for medical procedures/appointments. I found out I’ll need to make two trips out of town this week instead of one, because in the middle of this family member’s last procedure I need to be back in town to go to a doctor’s appointment with one of my kids. It feels overwhelming at times. My attitude hasn’t always been what it should be—with our home routine disrupted, I confess I haven’t been in the Word nearly as often as I usually am, nor have I gone to church as regularly. It shows.

I tried to fit something else in—a national yearly event put on by a wonderful Christian organization—a project I’ve participated in multiple times, but I had to take a deep breath and ask myself if I was really supposed to be involved this year. Had I prepared for it earlier, it would’ve been very simple, but since I’d put it off until the last minute and had other commitments, it would now mean involving my husband. What would’ve been a joy to contribute to would turn into a stressful event not only for me, but him as well.

Paul writes about good works in Titus 3:8 and 3:14: “And let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs, that they may not be unfruitful.”

That last thing I wanted to do is a good work, meets urgent needs, and bears fruit, but I have to remember: God doesn’t love me less if I don’t do this; I’m no less filled with the Holy Spirit; no less justified or less of an heir. His Son’s sacrifice did those things, not my works. In His supreme grace and mercy, God reminded me of another project I’ve been involved in locally for years which is just as good, meets needs, bears fruit, and is happening next month. God is so good.

“Father God, may we desire to do good works because of Your love, not to earn the love You have freely given us through Your Son, Jesus. Amen.”