“Organized religion ‘will be driven toward extinction’ in 9 countries, experts predict.” So read the headline of CNN’s Belief Blog earlier this year. People today are feeling less and less comfortable with “Organized Religion.” The Apostle Paul, if he were here, would not be one of them. In fact, for him, the churches on the island of Crete were not yet organized enough. The reason he left his assistant Titus there was to set things in order.
Titus, like Timothy, was a younger disciple of Paul. He is not mentioned in the book of Acts, but his name appears 12 times in Paul’s letters before this. According to Galatians 2:3, Titus was a Greek – a Gentile convert. Titus is obviously someone Paul felt he could count on – someone who could handle responsibility. Early in the letter, Paul reminds him that he left him on the island of Crete to bring more order to the churches. Cretans were naturally uncooperative, so this would be no easy task.
The Christian life can be compared to a race, but it’s a special kind of race.
– It’s like a relay because we don’t run alone.
– It’s like a marathon, because it requires endurance to make it to the end.
– It’s like an obstacle course, because there are a variety of difficulties along the way.
Paul is at the end of his relay-marathon-obstacle course and he hands the baton off to Timothy in the chapter we are reading today.
What should we do to be prepared for survival in perilous times? What if we ask a survivalist? Here are “10 Things To Do Now!” from thesurvivalistblog.net. We’ll then look at “4 Things To Do Now!” from the Apostle Paul to Timothy.
Central Reflections 