Paul exhorts us to ‘adorn the doctrine of God’ (Titus 2:10). This we must seek to do, but we must be careful how we do it.
We cannot adorn it with choirs and music, whether they be cantatas or guitars. Listen to the birds sing, the wind whisper through the pines, the water rippling over the rocks.
We cannot adorn it with steeples and great temples. The entire universe belongs to him. Stand under the stars, with the flowers at your feet and the soft, gentle breeze moving the trees. We can build nothing worthy of his glory.
We cannot adorn it with religious vestments and uniforms. The perfect man stood in Eden clothed only in God’s holiness. His clothes only disguised his naked guilt.
We cannot adorn it with religious rhetoric. The gospel is best adorned when it is unadorned by our arguments and reasoning.
But we can adorn the doctrines of God by our holiness of life, happiness of heart, love of sincere compassion, readiness to forgive, willingness to show mercy, and patience under trial. We can adorn it by an unselfish desire to make others happy, with a generous hand, and a peaceful disposition.
