Who wants to live “the good life”? I am sure we all do. God wants us to live “the good life” too. That’s why He shows us how to live it. Titus 2:3-5 is the passage where the older women are told what to teach the younger women. J. B. Phillips’ translation calls it “the good life” and then it goes on to say that when we do it God’s way that it is “a good advertisement for the Christian faith.”
The good life is a lot about loving. We are to be . . .
1. HUSBAND LOVERS
Every couple is in love with one another on their wedding day. However, marriage is all about keeping on loving one another, even when we face all the habits, idiosyncrasies, and annoyances we didn’t know about them before. We don’t love because we feel like loving. We love because that’s what we’re meant to do.
We love through the hard times. We love through the unlovely times. And amazingly, the more we love the more we fall in love. We must be proactive about loving. Speaking words of love. Writing words of love. Showing our love by our actions. Did you passionately kiss your husband as he left for work this morning?
2. CHILDREN LOVERS
It’s easy to love our children, isn’t it? Or most of the time! The Greek words for husband-loving and children-loving in Titus 2:4 are friendly and affectionate love. It’s love we express with our hands by touching and caressing. However, I think we need to realize that there’s something even greater than loving our children. It’s loving motherhood. Every mother loves her children, but not all mothers love motherhood. When we finally embrace motherhood—accept it and love it, knowing that we are in the perfect will of God, even loving our children becomes greater.
3. HOME LOVERS
The J: B. Phillips’ translation says we are to be “home lovers.” Too many mothers want to get away from the home. They would rather be in their careers than at home. I’ve heard mothers say: “I can be a better mother if I have time away from my children.” That’s not “hands on” mothering. And that’s not being a home lover.
God created the home for the woman and He wants us to be lovers of our homes. That’s not talking about our décor. It’s talking about making our home a place for the presence of God. A place where we love to be with our children and where we make it an exciting place for them. It’s where we manage and rule our home well with all efficiency and order. It’s hard to love living in a messy home. Therefore, we make it a place where we love to be.
Enjoy “the good life” today.
Love from Nancy Campbell
Painting: Georges Moreau de Tours (1848 – 1901, French)