Paul ministered to a people group who lived on the island of Crete. They had a reputation of being lazy and untruthful. They were basically uncivilized, and apart from a calling upon Paul to preach to all nations, there would be no reason to ever show up to such a rough people. As Paul preached, there were many who responded to his message.

Paul left the tiny island to go to other places needing to hear the gospel. He left Titus, however, to continue teaching and guiding the saved islanders spiritually. Paul knew the work would be cut out for Titus. His field was filled with people not only illiterate of the truths of God’s Word, but they were illiterate of basic societal propriety.

It was from this mix of uncouth islanders that Paul challenged Titus to find and develop pastoral candidates. Paul wrote Titus in…

Titus 1:5 For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee:
6 If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly.

Titus was to keep his eyes open for saved natives who had taken their salvation seriously. He was to look for households run in an orderly and respectful manner. Such a disposition was uncommon on the island, so Titus would be hard pressed to find such a candidate, but Paul was convinced they were there.

Paul’s letter continued with a list of qualifications for the man who would be ordained to lead the believers there spiritually. It was not Paul’s intention to leave Titus there indefinitely; he envisioned pulpits manned by natives who had been saved and educated under Paul’s and Titus’ ministries.

Paul showed great faith in the transformational work of Christ in his commission to Titus. Paul felt justified in putting on Titus the responsibility of developing men to be leaders. He believed the wildest men can be tamed by the powerful work of Christ in their lives. Paul was a living testimony of a radical transformation. One day Paul was killing Christians; the next he was preaching His message with great fervor.

Is it possible that many of us have fallen into the trap in underestimating what Christ can do in a life? As we look at individuals and evaluate their strengths and weaknesses, it is often easy to make a judgment call thinking that we can determine who will be a productive leader, and who will not.

Maybe we should be reminded that God is all powerful, and loves to use His power to change a person from the inside out. Let’s determine to give people a greater opportunity to show what God can do in their lives.