I recently had the privilege of spending time with a 74 year-old man who was facing the end of his life. He spent much of our time together reflecting back on his life—both the pain and suffering he had experienced as well as the pain and suffering he had caused. His mom died when he was just a toddler and his dad abandoned him to start a new family. His grandparents raised him and made many sacrifices to give him a good life even leaving their home to bring him to America. As an adult, he struggled to forgive his father, but he also struggled to forgive himself for the many mistakes he made along the way. He tried to make amends in his later years for the harm he caused, but there were some who weren’t quite ready to let things go. Now as he faced the end of his life, the thoughts that consumed his heart and mind had to do with where he stood with God. Did God forgive him for his many sins? Was God angry with him or disappointed? Would he spend eternity with God in heaven? These conversations allowed me with the help of the Holy Spirit to share with him the good news of the gospel. I read to him Ephesians 2:8: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” and Isaiah 1:18: “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.” In his final days, I believe that these truths brought him peace, hope and the assurance that He would be with Jesus in eternity. As I read through this week’s passage from Titus, I couldn’t help thinking of this man who so greatly impacted my life. Like the apostle Paul, he could testify that he had been foolish, disobedient and that his life had been full of evil. But even greater than what he had done was what God had done for him and that made all the difference in the end. If you are struggling to understand who God is, how He views you and how He deals with the sin in your life, my friend who is now face-to-face with Jesus would share with you these words from the apostle Paul:
“When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. Because of his grace he made us right in his sight and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.”