Fascinating character and New Atheist Christopher Hitchens succumbed to cancer today at an American hospital. I intentionally looked to see if his brother had anything to say about it – and was not disappointed. The links are to the “print article” pages, so as not to bombard anyone with the Mail’s annoying sidebars.
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.
Someday we will wake up and find ourselves in the heavenly glory of our Lord’s presence. All our tears will be wiped away, all our problems will be solved and all our hurts will be healed. But we’re not there yet. (Sorry.) The world we live in is still fallen and full of difficulties. If we expect our lives to have an enduring impact, then we must be people who are able to endure.
Central Reflections 