READ: Titus 2:11-14
I love microwaves. Seriously, what did people do before microwaves? Of all the appliances in my house, there are two that get used everyday: the coffee maker and the microwave. The microwave has revolutionized the convenience and speed at which we can heat up our food and drinks. It has saved humanity billions and trillions of hours of cooking time.
The microwave is not alone in the proliferation of technologies that have expedited tasks. The internet has saved us from having to go to the store for groceries, movie rentals, video games, duct tape, shoes, clothes, music, medicine, and more. The list is endless! We have the world at our fingertips and, with same day delivery, we don’t even have to wait long for it to get to us.
Whether we know it or not, all of these conveniences have caused a shift in our expectations of everything, including how God should work. Why does God take so long to answer our prayers? Why does God take so long to punish the wicked? Why does sanctification take so long? Why does our fight against sin seem to inch forward rather than rocket forward?
In our passage for this week, Paul tells Titus that the grace of God that brought us salvation in Jesus Christ is “training” us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions. The imagery of an athlete or warrior training, competing, and battling for righteousness is repeated often in the New Testament regarding our sanctification (Hebrews 12:1-3; Philippians 3:13-14, Ephesians 6:10-20).
God’s wisdom sees a greater benefit in the slow cooker of sanctification rather than the microwave. Indeed, everyone can agree that a roast slowly cooked all day long in the crock pot has better flavor than if it was cooked in a microwave. Can it even be cooked in a microwave and still be edible? As much as I love the microwave, there are some things it just can’t do.
Though our sanctification is a process, our justification is not! Our passage ends with this glorious truth…
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.
Even though we are being developed by the training process to fight ungodliness and lawlessness, Jesus has already redeemed us from it and purified us for Himself! We see our own sin so vividly, but if we have surrendered our lives to Christ, God sees only the perfection and purity of His Son when He looks at us! Oh what freedom from guilt and shame that produces!
So as we prepare to gather this Sunday, remember that the slow cooking of our lives will produce something worth waiting for. We can also give thanks that our salvation isn’t dependent on how quickly we cook. Christ has already redeemed us. Rejoice and simmer!
