My daughter applied for a bursary. Wow, what a huge bunch of papers that had to be completed. And you have to submit a CV. She scurried around getting lecturers and other leaders to write a few words about her.

She said she wasn’t even sure those lecturers would recognise her. I told her about my student days. Yes, the guys had seen me and knew exactly who I was. The lecturers knew the guy with the long hair and wondered where he would ever find his place in the sun one day. They knew about me because going to class wasn’t exactly a popular pastime in my life.

And if I did attend now and then, I was the one who was always late. The class would have started already when they would hear me coming from the top end of the Laan on my motorbike, because the exhaust did nothing to muffle the sound of the engine. On the contrary.

They knew me for my exam papers, which they could mark quite quickly, since they didn’t contain much writing. There are probably a few more things I would have been remembered for, but let’s not go there.

Nowadays if I meet them in the street or the shops and they hear what I do, they think I’m lying …

I would never have asked them to contribute to my CV.

Yes, you are remembered for the good things or the not-so-good things you do.

At the beginning of his letter, Paul asked Titus to help him write down the lifestyle that is expected of church leaders. I think this applies to ordinary Christians too. And we can listen to each of these to see how we can adjust our way of life so that we can one day be remembered for the right things and walk into heaven with a good CV in our hands.

The first suggestion is that one should ask, ⁶… “Is this man well-thought-of? In other words, if someone from outside asks at reception to see a Christian, you must be the first person they think of.

Will your phone be the first to ring to come to reception, because someone is looking for you?

The King James Bible says we must be “blameless”. If you’ve done something wrong, you will be blamed for it. You’ve done wrong and must be corrected.

This sounds a bit harsh and as if we might not make it. But Paul knows that only Jesus had lived 100% blameless. We all lose it now and then, and we all lose the way sometimes. But we must still try and live right.

We must try and live in such a way that one day it can be read between the lines of our CV that we have tried our best to follow in Jesus’ footsteps. That people will be able to see and experience our beautiful heart among the mistakes and wrong directions.

Scripture
Titus 1:5-9

Reflection
What is your CV looking like at this stage?
Do you have to make a few adjustments somewhere?
Which of your actions cause the most pain to others that you struggle most with to change?

Prayer
Father, I know there are a few things in my life that I need to adjust. A few big ones. But I want to, because I long to live the way You want me to. I really want to help others in need and be an example. Please help me, God. Amen.