2008-09-13 - Summer Questions

2008 #9.3 ~ A Trustworthy Statement, Part 4

Titus 3:8, "This is a trustworthy saying, and I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good."

Today's Question: "I find peace a very hard thing to come by. I suffer from depression, OCD, and anxiety and I KNOW God loves me, but sometimes it's hard to understand why people like me suffer."

This is the fourth in our look at the Apostle Paul's "trustworthy statements." It is a great way to end the four statements. It is as if Paul is including the first three here, when he says that he wants these things to be stressed. Paul is saying, "Here is why I so want you to focus on your security and foundation that has been laid up in Christ: I want to stress this, because I want you to devote yourself to doing good." He is stressing that he wants us to live as if the things of Christ really are true in us. Have we trusted into Christ? If so, we cannot be the same. Our lives have been transformed. We who are under the security of forgiven sin have been freed from the cares and concerns of the world, and we are free to do those things which are good. While we live in the world, we really do not live in the world - we live above the world. We do this by humbly living for Christ, who has shown us in His life the pattern for living self-effacing lives consecrated unto Him.

There is a peace that is to be found in giving of ourselves to others. When we seek to live lives that are ever doing good works, we cannot focus on ourselves. We are outside of our world and struggles. We find that there are those who have greater concerns, worries and toils. Our suffering starts to diminish when we see the great suffering that others so often have. More and more, as we secure the mind of Christ in all things, our struggles seem to fade - and His greatness captivates us more and more. This is excellent thinking and living. We trust the living God who has revealed Himself to us in Christ, and we devote ourselves to doing good. Our propensity is to do what is best for us, or to seek our desires, but this only provides comfort and peace when our desires are the same as what Christ's desires are.

This is the best life we can ever seek, a life dedicated to doing good in the cause of Christ. Nobody strives hard for mediocrity. Those who strive do so to achieve excellence. Here Paul is telling us the surest way to excellence. Here is a full life. Here is how to avoid the foolishness of the world. Follow Christ. Give your life to Him, and seek His kingdom (Matthew 6:33), and then you will know - then you will experience all the joy that the Lord has in store for you. The wonder of this, of course, is that this joy is not limited to this life. The joys we secure in doing good are but a down payment of the eternal joys that await all those who love His appearing. There is much more in the life to come. It is a trustworthy statement that we should stress: Let all who have rested in Christ for all their hope devote themselves to doing good.

Soli Deo Gloria,
T-

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Editor's Note: The questions in this series are stated in the exact form sent by the readers - unedited, unproofed, in order to remain true to the reader's original wording.