God’s Man For The Job

Titus In Crete:God’s Man For The Job! Before Paul left him in Crete, Titus had been his emissary to the Church in Corinth, and also the one in charge of the collection for Jerusalem’s poor (2 Cor. 2:13; 8:6,16). Did tasks like these equip him for the work in Crete? And have you ever considered just how big that work was? Titus was called “to set things in order” (Ti. 1:5). Shepherding the Cretans was a real challenge. They were descendants of the Philistines. Crete’s Mount Ida was the so-called birthplace of Zeus, so Greek gods reigned there. In addition to false gods, there were also false teachers (Ti. 1:10,14). One of their prophets, the poet Epimenides, described the Cretans as liars, beasts and gluttons (Ti. 1:12). Surely, this job would require someone with the gifts of teaching, exhorting and rebuking (Ti. 2:1,6). But that’s not all Titus was called to do. God also called him to “appoint elders in every city” (Ti. 1:5). When we consider the size of this task another gift comes to mind - administration. Why? Because Crete was not just made up of a few small fishing villages. This 186x35 mile island was known in Bible times as “the island of 100 cities.” And its million inhabitants were into all sorts of evil. In short, Titus really had his work cut out for him! But he had God on his side! And historians give us some idea of their success as a team. They tell us Titus did appoint elders; and, except for one mission trip to modern-day Yugoslavia, he spent the rest of his life as Crete’s chief elder. He must have done something right - like everything God wanted him to do - because those same historians tell us that the Christian faith endured in Crete into the twentieth century. I hope this brief introduction to Titus and Crete will add to your appreciation of how God equips us for the work He calls us to do. By Larry Ondrejack