At the end of Titus chapter 2 it says: 'For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.'
Now you can take a deep breath from Paul's very long sentence!
I love this verse - it's such great news that God has appeared on the scene with his grace, not just to cancel out the curse of sin, but to change us into a people of his own possession!
This verse deals with the here and now, but most of all it points forward to 'the end' - the end of life as we know it, struggling with sin in a messed up world- and ultimately the beginning of life sharing in God's eternal nature and enjoying him forever, 'our blessed hope', when Jesus appears in glory. (See, maybe it's impossible to talk about such good news with a sensible sentence length!)
Why did I pick this verse to start my blog posting? Simple. If the grace of God indeed has appeared and is training/teaching me then I need to be living in the light of it. Not least in the step home.
What is grace? In short: God's grace is the good news that he paid, by his own suffering, the penalty for us putting him on the back-burner and forgetting about him, forgiving us completely and making peace with us. We don't deserve access to God (Peace) but we have access through his suffering servant son Jesus. And he did this while we were hostile towards him.
Grace is the way into relationship with God and grace is the way on with God. We never get to a chapter of our lives where we are not reliant on grace. We never get to a point where we can stand before God by our own merits.
Our step family is at it's beginning, a new born infant, just 6 months old. I believe it's being shaped by grace, already. God has been at work in my relationships with the children for many years while my husband and I were tentatively exploring the possibilities of marriage within the context of a long courtship. The children have been so positive about the marriage and inviting me into their lives, that it has been overwhelming! On the whole we are a family that loves to be together: spending time, enjoying shared pursuits, reading together, laughing together, making plans together. We're also being transformed by grace together 'into a people of his own possession'.
I believe marriage, as well as parenting (and step-parenting!) are massive spheres of life where God uses the relationships as a training ground in grace. As sinners we have huge potential to mess up, and we do every day. But as sinners who are being trained by grace we have a great. It's great to be able to share this hope with the kids and to know that every step we take, we are also helping them to see this and be transformed. This is good news for the tough, stinky days when I'd rather not get out of bed, and for the days that seem to go much better.
So that's my blog - starting with the end in sight. The glorious future of a transformation in Jesus. New posts will be about how this hope connects with the day-to-day reality of life in the stephome - keep me accountable as I strive to live in the light of God's promises!
Grace and Peace!
I believe marriage, as well as parenting (and step-parenting!) are massive spheres of life where God uses the relationships as a training ground in grace. As sinners we have huge potential to mess up, and we do every day. But as sinners who are being trained by grace we have a great. It's great to be able to share this hope with the kids and to know that every step we take, we are also helping them to see this and be transformed. This is good news for the tough, stinky days when I'd rather not get out of bed, and for the days that seem to go much better.
So that's my blog - starting with the end in sight. The glorious future of a transformation in Jesus. New posts will be about how this hope connects with the day-to-day reality of life in the stephome - keep me accountable as I strive to live in the light of God's promises!
Grace and Peace!
