"Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope,
To Timothy my true son in the faith:
Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. These promote controversies rather than God's work—which is by faith. The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith." - 1 Timothy 1:1-5
The world has lost its way.
The only question is "when?"
Is the violence in our world really anything new?
In Bible days, as in today's reading in the Daily Bible, St. Paul is inspired by the Holy Spirit to give some simple advice to people who are asking, "What's going on in the world?"
Or "When did the world lose its way?"
Or "What can we do to change the course of the world?"
So what's his advice? What is the God-inspired word through him?
We are called to look in the mirror.
Particularly at:
our doctrine (what we believe),
our love (how we relate to others), and
our faith (how we relate to God).
What we believe (our doctrine) informs how we relate to others. If we believe what God says in scripture, then we relate to others in a life-giving way.
But if we believe (as many do in the world) that God's word is constraining and we do what we feel like (which is called sin), then our relating to others will create strife and conflict.
In sum, St. Paul is inspired to say that the world is full of difficulties, but there is only one party that any of us can really do anything about, namely, our own self.
If our doctrine, love, and faith are what God calls them to be through scripture, then we're a part of the solution to the world's troubles.
If our doctrine, love, and faith are what we want them to be, then we're only making matters worse.
Dear Lord, we live in a very troubled world. Give us a hunger for you and your word. For by your grace, we understand that "The goal of [your word] is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith" (1 Timothy 1:5). And your word alone can restore harmony to this world. Teach us, Lord, what to believe, how to love, and what it means to trust in you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Praise God!
Pastor Chris
"The gospel is the story of Jesus [what God's only Son has done for us that we can't do for ourselves], spoken as a promise." - Robert Jenson
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