Left Behind

Have you ever been left behind? I remember a childhood experience when my father was leaving the house to attend a sporting event and not taking me with him. I almost always went with him to such events. This time someone else had offered him a ticket and there was no ticket for me, but I didn’t understand that at the time. My only emotion was that of being left behind. Although that emotion re-occurred through the years, it was likely never felt more deeply than that night many years ago. Maybe that’s why I’ve always had an affinity for Titus. We don’t know much about Titus. He was a young pastor, an occasional traveling companion of Paul (Galatians 2:1; 2 Corinthians 7:6, 8:6). From the tone of Paul’s pastoral letter to him, it appears that Titus wanted to travel on with the great missionary. Early in the letter, Paul says, “For this reason, I left you in Crete” (Titus 1:5) as if Titus was requesting or perhaps demanding a reason for being left behind. The reason, spelled out in the letter, was to “set in order” or organize, the churches in Crete. For some unknown reason, Paul was unable to finish his business there. Since Crete was one of the largest islands in the Mediterranean, this was no small assignment. Nevertheless, Titus was left behind, and we hear no more about him in the Scripture. So what do you do when you get left behind? You faithfully finish what you have been given to do.

Join me this week in remembering the following global concerns:
• Pray for Melinda, Dano, and family as they travel through Indonesia this week.
• Pray for Sarah, Larry and Nathanael as they struggle with visa issues for Nathanael.
• Sept. 30th is the beginning of Sukkot or Feast of Tabernacles. Pray for Mary and others who work among Jewish people for whom this is a holiday of joyous celebration.
• Pray for Jonathan, Melissa and family as they travel this week to their assignment in South Asia.