Prayer Pointers: For God to strengthen you in your Lenten disciplines
To thank God for his daily mercies
Today’s text: Titus 2:1-15
I HAVE ALWAYS THOUGHT it a particular grace of God that Lent begins at roughly the same time as baseball’s spring training, that period of time when professional ballplayers gather in Florida or Arizona and begin practicing—stretching unused muscles, regrooving the swing of the bat, working up over time to throwing at full strength, and so on. Training helps the muscles “remember” their tasks and allows them to do so without injury.
In a similar way, Lent calls us to “practice” our profession of Christ: to stretch the muscle fibers of faith, to regroove the habits of hope, to return to full strength the labors of love. The disciples Paul commends to Titus, and through Titus to his parish, are meant to help the family of God on the island of Crete to be effective witnesses of God’s salvation for themselves and among their neighbors.
In a world that desperately needs men and women of integrity, dignity and sound speech (vv7-8), we can only be ready when life calls us up to bat if we practice.
May your day be grace-filled ~ Pr. Dave Brooks