Beloved:
Remind them to be under the control of magistrates and authorities,
to be obedient, to be open to every good enterprise.
They are to slander no one, to be peaceable, considerate,
exercising all graciousness toward everyone.
For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, deluded,
slaves to various desires and pleasures,
living in malice and envy,
hateful ourselves and hating one another.
But when the kindness and generous love
of God our savior appeared,
not because of any righteous deeds we had done
but because of his mercy,
he saved us through the bath of rebirth
and renewal by the Holy Spirit,
whom he richly poured out on us
through Jesus Christ our savior,
so that we might be justified by his grace
and become heirs in hope of eternal life.
–Ti 3:1-7
Life is a journey of learning who God is and building a relationship with Him. One of the most difficult concepts Christians must wrap their minds around, and probably one of the least sought modern virtues, is how God loves obedience. Jesus, God himself, cast all of his powers aside to become a helpless child – and was obedient to his created mother and father.
The election, current public discourse and political climate have been contentious – putting it mildly. The early Christians were often living under political regimes that persecuted, arrested, and killed them. Yet, here we read that Christians were taught to be obedient to authority. Even Jesus, when being falsely tried, convicted, and killed – was still obedient to authority of the chief priests and Roman authorities. Even when He could have used the power of the crowds to have stopped it, walked away from Jerusalem, or talked his way out of a death sentence.
Instead, we are to act with peace and act graciously towards everyone and be open to every good enterprise. Even bad situations have opportunities for good – look for them! We too were (or are) just as full of evil and shackled by our passions so we do not to slander anyone – but speak always at peace and be considerate to all.
Obedience is a difficult thing – but I think it teaches us a lot of powerful lessons. For one, I think it shows God’s power to turn evil into good. It reminds us that it’s not our efforts that are important, but living in the presence of God in our actions that is most important. It’s when we do not seek to change things through our own actions that God can demonstrate His power through us. Even the seemingly pointless death of Jesus, killed like a common criminal, has turned into the means of salvation for the whole world.
So, step away from the toxic social media. Turn off the doom-filled TV and news feeds. Instead, be Christ in the world – and be the light of hope in the midst of the darkness.
