This morning we start our way through Paul’s letter to Titus. It’s not a book of the Bible that’s quoted frequently, or well known. This is another reason I enjoy our structured Morning Prayer; it takes me through parts of Scripture I’d otherwise skip over.
Paul is writing Titus, who he left behind. And while perhaps I should have known this, or known of all of Paul’s travelings, I didn’t. And I know some disagree with my sentiments, I don’t think it’s critical that I do have a historically precisely accurate, contextually clear understanding of Scripture, to think on them. I get to be a theo-logian (God thinker) right from where I am. I’m grateful there are those who know about the history of the Greek words, or better understand the historical context of the writing. Thank God for people who want to know that; they write excellent academic articles, and bring a contextual history I don’t.
And I don’t think that’s necessary to read scripture, to think about it, to write about it, to pray about it. If it were, then we’d be back at a time where Scripture was reserved for those other people – for the people who read at all, or those who knew Latin, or those who’ve been to seminary or . . My musings come from my personal experience of God, and my personal interpretation, which isn’t wholly personal as I come from a faith tradition that puts a lot of credence on the collective wisdom and collective prayers of the community.
Enough of that rant. From this human God thinker’s (theo-logian) to another, here are my morning musings. I left you behind . . . so you could put in order what remained to be done. I have several dear friends who are currently struggling with what they should be doing in their lives. Opportunities that they think are great pass them by, and they’re left right where they were. I empathize.
I was in this place at a previous circumstance, for probably 75% of the time I worked and lived there. I desperately wanted to be somewhere else, and opportunities kept passing. I felt stuck, not because I wasn’t trying to move on – I was. But because regardless of what I seemed to do, I was destined to more time, left behind.
I’d like to imagine Titus feels the same, especially if Paul had to open his letter with explaining why Titus was left behind. Titus was left to put in order what remained. To be clear, I’m not suggesting Paul always had the right ideas or actions, but I do think God does.
So for Titus, my friends, and me back then, I think being stuck where you are when you have an itch to be somewhere else, God has a plan or timing that we don’t always see. Maybe I was stuck because there were things I needed to put in place before I left. In hindsight, I believe this to be true, although at the time, I just felt left behind. Maybe I was stuck because the right opportunities hadn’t presented. Again, in hindsight, I believe this to be true too.
I pray that as I approach today, next month or next year, when I reach that place of feeling left behind, I remember that God has a purpose and timing for me that I might not see or understand. I guess I don’t need to know what the plan is, but I need to have faith that there is a plan. I need to rest in my stuck-ness, and “put in order what remain(s) to be done”.
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