Thursday 5 October, 2017

12 I will send Artemas or Tychicus to you. Then do your best to come to me at Nicopolis. I’ve decided to spend the winter there. 13 Do everything you can to help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos. Send them on their way. See that they have everything they need. 14 Our people must learn to commit themselves to doing what is good. Then they can provide for people when they are in great need. If they do that, their lives won’t turn out to be useless. 15 Everyone who is with me sends you greetings. Greet those who love us in the faith. May God’s grace be with you all.

Paul closes his letter – this letter much like the many other letters he has written. This is not an uncommon moment. But the sincerity and friendship of Paul to Titus is not lost in the formality of his signing off. Paul sounds like he is under pressure and needs reliable friends. His ‘pen-pal’ Titus is the friend for the job. What exactly happened next, after the end of Paul’s letter to Titus, is a question for the Biblical scholars. We know at least that Paul’s encouraging words to
Titus were significant enough that he preserved the letter so that we still have it in our Bibles, for our shared benefit, now 2000 years later.

We all need reliable friends. If this is an area lacking in our lives then lets bring it to God. Pray and ask God for Titus’ in your life. Similarly, be a Titus to somebody. I notice that Paul links a person’s desire for goodness as proportional to their capacity to be helpful to others (v14) – acknowledge goodness and good works as a virtue in your life.

Lord, thank you that you help me realise the good works I can do and that you help me recognise those around me I can encourage and support. I want to be a friend that my friends can rely on. Amen

Written by Sam Stewart