“Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ to further the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness — in the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time, and which now at his appointed season he has brought to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior” — Titus 1:1-3
We read these verses at our elders Bible study a few days ago. Maybe it was the time of day (6 AM) or the fact that I hadn’t had much coffee, but reading these words — especially those in bold print — really grabbed me. In fact, I teared up a bit.
I was reminded once again why I love to preach: it has been entrusted to me.
That’s not language I would have used when I was a teenager and just starting to craft (really bad) sermons. In fact, it wasn’t until my late 20’s that I would begin to develop a theology of calling.
Nowadays, I have no doubt that I have been entrusted with the task of preaching. I didn’t manufacture it or fall into it by accident. God entrusted it to me.
What does this mean? Well, here are a few starter thoughts:
- If God entrusted it to me, it was because he believed I was up to the task.
- If God entrusted it to me, then I must honor him by continually improving my ability to communicate.
- If God entrusted it to me, then the gift does not belong to me; I am only a steward.
- If God entrusted it to me, he expects a return on his investment.
- If God entrusted it to me, I must never shrink back or be apologetic about my calling.
- If God entrusted it to me, I must strive to be trustworthy in return.
For those of you who have also been entrusted with the task of preaching, what does it mean to you?