But After That. . . .

But After That. . . .

But after that the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared …

Titus 3:4

Paul never fails to make much of Christ, and to magnify the Grace of God. The text before us today is no exception. He is about to launch a discussion of ‘the kindness and love of God our Savior.’ Before he sets out these diamonds of grace, he lays down the black velvet of our former life as a background which will cause those diamonds to glisten more brilliantly. The previous verse declares, ‘For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.’ This is an accurate description of us. We must in all honesty, own it. While dwelling upon it, in morbid introspection, is not healthy, we dare not forget, ‘the pit’ from whence God has graciously delivered us. Our past unrighteousness is the inky blackness against which the glorious Grace of Christ shines brightly. ‘But, after that,’ what a wonderful thought. Old mistakes, old shame, old vices, old bondage, old regret, old failure; all of these things precede the coming of the ‘kindness and love of God our Savior.’ I may look back upon them and say, ‘There I was, but here I am.’ By the power of His Love and Kindness,’ Christ has put those things, not only behind me, but more importantly, ‘behind His back.’ He declares that He will ‘remember them against us no more.’ What a blessed place for us to be today. How joyful that we are today in the place where we can speak of all the Love and Kindness of Christ to us, being mindful that He has extended it to us, ‘after that.’

Our Gracious Master and Our God,
We praise You for Your Grace and Favor,
You have brought us up from destruction,
You are all our Hope and Stay.

Where the Bush is Burning
Tomm Tice