3/26/25

In my 55 years on this earth, I have fathered 3 children. One did not survive to birth, one is 32, and one is 28. I have a love for them that is enormous. My 28-year-old daughter married, and now, although I didn't father him, I have a 30-year-old son. My love for him is enormous. It is amazing that we can have such enormous love for people that we didn't birth or raise. I know and have known people who have adopted children, and just like I would fight you over any of my 3 living children, they would do the same for theirs, adopted or birthed.

In our text today, we see this love for another type of child, one who is not birthed, adopted, or married into the family. This child was purchased by God and raised in faith.

Titus 1:4 NASB95 To Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

As I read this text I started to ask myself, how many children do I have in the common faith of Jesus? The answer is not near enough and I have not nurtured the ones I do have. I have led some to Christ and I have nurtured some. However, the ones I have nurtured could take me before God and accuse me of neglect and, in some cases, abandonment, and I would have to plead guilty! The others would have to say I never knew my father in the common faith of God because he left the moment I was born. How sad this makes me. Oh, that I would have been there for each and taught them as Paul says to Titus: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

How many of God's creations have I aborted because I wasn't obedient to share or continue to share the gospel with them? I profess that abortion is murder, and yet I refuse to offer them the life-giving seed of the gospel. Or I offer it once but no longer nurture until birth. Or I leave at the first sign of life so that they starve to death.

I would never do that to my children. Why have I done this to the spiritual children in the common faith of Jesus? Knowing they need to be given the spiritual milk of the gospel before they can eat of the spiritual meat of the full word of God. I had a talk with my daughter and son several weeks ago about the importance of following God and bringing up my granddaughter in God's presence. There are a lot of people over my 40 years as a follower of Christ that I have needed to have this talk with. I have failed them. If you are reading this and I didn't share the Gospel with you, I ask for your forgiveness. I want to tell you that Jesus, the Son of God, came to earth for you. He was tempted in all ways but without sin. He died on the cross in your place taking on your sin.

He was buried because He was dead in your place, and on the third day, He rose from the dead, defeating death and becoming the only Way to the Father. Romans 10:9-10 NASB95 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

You can be forgiven of your sins just as Christ has forgiven me for not telling you!

If you are one of those whom I shared with but left to starve without the proper nutrients of the word of God, I ask for your forgiveness. I also would love it if you would give me a chance to start being the father in the common faith I should have been all along. Until then I pray Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

If you are like me and are guilty of having aborted babies of the common faith or starving and abandoning children of the common faith in Jesus. I encourage you to start now teaching them Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

Love Bro. Scott