Titus 2:11-12 11 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,
Have you ever thought how important it is to be teachable? It’s a quality that we must cultivate and protect. It’s not a given that being teachable is an attribute that we will have or retain if we have had it. The more we become set in out ways, the more unteachable we can become. Often teachable moments occur when we have to change; do things differently; do them better; to quit doing things that hinder us.
Unteachableness has a way of diminishing our grasp of the obvious. Worse, it can be a fruit of pride – we know best! We’ve been there and done that. Who are you to tell me?!! We might not think these thoughts but the net result is that we don’t change much anymore.
Years ago we heard a Bible teacher share a truth that has been dear to us ever since. He said, “The way to stay free is to be a lover of the truth.” When we love the truth we will hear it and respond to it no matter how it comes. God sometimes sends the truth in some very unattractive packages. He might pick the person we know who annoys us the most to be the one to bring us a corrective word. We then face the problem of rejecting the truth because we reject the messenger.
Remember, repentance is a way of life for us. When we learn new things it’s not unusual for it to mean we repent and embrace a better way. Jesus will show us how to be more courteous, kinder, more thoughtful, more considerate, more giving, more compassionate, etc… The Holy Spirit will also show us the things in our lives that stand in the way of these positive attributes developing into what they can and need to be.
The grace of God teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and “Yes” to Godliness. It is a lifelong process because we give the Lord a lifetime supply of stuff to work on in our lives. Praise God for His patience and His unchanging commitment to help us become like Him. A life of godliness is the sweetest life of all.
