…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. (Titus 3:3-6, ESV)
Watch any interview with a tour player, and you will notice they use the first-person, singular pronoun “I” almost exclusively: “I hit a nice bunker shot on five.” “I drove it beautifully all day.” “I putted miserably today.” Customarily, we wouldn’t expect them to say, “We hit it nicely today.”
One phrase that’s become fashionable is, “I just need to believe in myself.” Depending on who says it, this sentence can mean entirely different things.
If the player has a Christian outlook on life, it could mean, “I’ve worked hard at my game, therefore, I need to trust that work.” To another player, we might discover it means something entirely different like, “I, and I alone, am responsible for my fate.”
The player who views life through the grid of Scripture means something like, “God has given me a gift, and I want to steward that gift to his glory.” The other view might assume, as John Lennon once sang, “Imagine there’s no heaven; it’s easy if you try. No hell below us, above us only sky.” In this view, the off-the-cuff comment, “I just need to believe in myself” is embedded in a conflicting story about the nature of reality.
Humans are a storied people. We live inside stories, and these large narratives consciously or unconsciously, guide our lives. Some stories are rigorously philosophical; others are over-simplifications which are mindlessly held by the masses.
Some people live by stories entirely shaped by atheistic narratives—Karl Marx’s ideology comes to mind. Some people live within stories entirely shaped by Scientism—the view that argues only science can give us the answers to life.
Over the last few decades, academic radicals have denounced the idea of a metanarrative—or one true story of the world—altogether. Ironically, their version of reality has become “the story” currently shaping America. They live by a story declaring there is no such thing as right and wrong, no such thing as heaven or hell.
According to this understanding, heaven and hell are mythical and there is no God “up there” who will judge us. According to these intellectuals, God is a fictional character we mortals have imagined in order to cope with the horrors of this world. They would say we’re born, we live, we die—full stop.
Today’s devotional text presupposes a far more realistic story. In this story, God created and declared this world “good” and even “very good.” In this story, narrated by prophets and apostles, we see how mankind has rebelled against their Maker. The Creator, being a just and righteous God, must judge humanity for their treason and lawlessness.
However, this story doesn’t end there; the true story of the whole world doesn’t end with only judgment. In this account, the Creator of all enters the story by sending his only Son to forgive, redeem, restore, and even improve our original relationship and mission.
Notice that in today’s verse, there is no first person, singular “I,” only the second person, singular—“he” and “his.” Amazing grace, indeed—the ultimate mulligan:
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.
Glory to God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—for our salvation! The Father planned it, the Son accomplished it, and the Holy Spirit applies it continually.