For the grace of God has appeared with salvation for all people, instructing us to deny godlessness and worldly lusts and to live in a sensible, righteous, and godly way in the present age, while we wait for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.  He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for Himself a people for His own possession, eager to do good works.  Titus 2:11-14 HCSB

I don’t think anyone has children hoping that they will grow up to be self serving, undisciplined, and unruly. Most people want their children to be giving, loving, self-disciplined, productive members of society. But we know that in order for children to be this way, we must train them to be this way. We must teach them to put others first. We must help them to appreciate the value of a good education. We must train them to be disciplined. We must discipline them when they step out of line. It takes work. Parents must be willing to invest the time and effort. We also know that there is no guarantee. Even the best of parents with the best of intentions have children that go astray.

Our heavenly Father is no different. He wants His children to put Him first, others next and themselves last. He wants His children to be able to stand firm against evil and temptation. He wants His children to be able to withstand trials and tribulations by trusting in Him and His strength. He wants His children to be disciplined, to serve Him and others by doing good works.

Now as any good parent would, God doesn’t just throw us out into the world and hope that we make good decisions. He gives us grace so that we may have salvation. He has provided His Holy Word in the Bible as an instruction manual telling us how we should live and what we shouldn’t do, such as denying godlessness and worldly lusts. It also tells us what we should do in order to be able to live in a sensible, righteous, and godly way in these trying times. He gives us spiritual gifts and jobs to do as we await His return.

Our scripture passage ends by saying that He gave Himself to redeem us and cleanse us so that we could be His people eager to do good works. God gives His word as an instruction manual. He trains and equips pastors and teachers to help us along the way. He puts people in our paths to mentor us. But all of this does no good if we reject it.

There is a ghetto slang term that says, “Get it how you live”. The scripture that most closely matches that is Galatians 6:7 which tells us that we should not be deceived because God is not mocked, a man will reap what he sows. Perhaps you have heard the saying, “He who lives by the sword shall die by the sword”.  In Revelation 13:10 we are told that if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. So, I want you to take a minute and think about how you live. Would you say that you are training for an eternity in heaven or an eternity in hell? Do your words and your actions bring glory and honor and praise to God? Or are people shocked when they find that you are a church member because of the way you talk and act outside of church?

We train for the job we intend to do. Doctors and other medical professionals don’t train in firearms and defensive tactics. Police officers don’t train to treat illnesses and prescribe medications. We train for our future.

So what are you training for? While you may be blinded to it, those around you could probably tell you what they see. My boss used to always tell me that good training builds character. My friend if you are praying continually and reading your Bible and studying God’s word, and doing your best to imitate Christ and bring glory to God in all that you do this is good training for when we get to heaven. But if you are allowing the devil to distract you with the things of this world and allowing him to kill your zeal for Christ, steal your joy and destroy your witness, then you are training to spend an eternity with the devil.

If you are in the wrong training program, it’s not too late to switch over. Turn to God today, He is eager to accept you into His program and train you for an eternity with Him.

Have a great day!