Day 350: Me? A Titus 2 Woman?

Today's Daily Bible Reading: 1 Timothy 6:11-21, Titus 1-3, 2 Timothy 1:1-18

Titus 2:3-5.  I have pretty much ignored these verses most of my life.  In 2021 if I continue to walk this earth I will be turning 60.  I think it is time I paid attention.  There is no getting around it; I am one of the older women.  Not just in age, but also simply by the number of years I have been a follower of Jesus, which is pretty much most of my life.  I have benefited much from the lives of older women in my life, from grandmothers and aunts who loved the Lord, from women in the church who quietly taught me so much about what it looks like to be a woman of God.  I can name a handful of them who guided me along the way since my teenage years.  God has blessed my life with these women almost everywhere He has led me.  But now, more and more I am realizing I am one of those women who needs to reach out to the younger ones.  I do not feel well equipped.  I am all too aware of my failings as a wife, a mother, a daughter of the King.  And yet here is this little passage:

Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.
Titus 2:3-5, ESV

Perhaps it is not my job to be perfect and have things all together.  That is never going to happen as long as I am here.  I cannot wait until I feel ready.  The time is now.  I know some young women.  I have shyly begun to reach out to a few of them recently and you know what I have found?  They are as delighted as I was as a young woman to have someone investing in them.

To further encourage me to be a Titus 2 woman, as I read on in Titus, Paul has these words which are applicable to every one of us.

Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work,  to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.  For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.  But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared,  he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,  whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.  The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people.     -Titus 3:1-8, ESV

Certainly, being reverent in my behavior, teaching what is good, training young women (and myself) to love their husbands, their children, to be self-controlled, pure, etc are all aspects of devoting myself to good works.  And in this last passage is also guidance on how to go about it: with gentleness and courtesy, perfect courtesy.  The New Living Translation puts it this way, “Similarly, teach the older women to live in a way that honors God. They must not slander others or be heavy drinkers. Instead, they should teach others what is good.  These older women must train the younger women to love their husbands and their children, to live wisely and be pure, to work in their homes, to do good, and to be submissive to their husbands. Then they will not bring shame on the word of God.”

I like the beginning in particular of this translation “to live in a way that honors God”.  That my dear friends is what I want my life to be about.  And here I am given some really clear direction on just what that looks like for me today.
 

May grace, peace, and mercy abound,