Titus 1:3

But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour.

Paul says something here that the world has never fully understood. God chose to make His Word known through preaching.

Not through spectacle. Not through armies. Not through the machinery of governments or the clever arguments of philosophers. He chose preaching.

And Paul says this responsibility had been committed to him by the commandment of God our Saviour. This was not simply a career choice or a personal ambition. It was an assignment from heaven.

To the outside world, that whole idea sounds strange. In fact Paul told the Corinthians that God uses what the world calls the “foolishness of preaching.” From a worldly perspective it does seem unusual. A group of people gathering together to listen to someone open the Scriptures and speak about them for an hour or two does not sound impressive to those who measure value by entertainment or productivity.

People sometimes ask, “You spend your Sunday morning doing that?”

But those who know the Lord understand something others miss.

There is a warmth that comes when the Word of God is opened. Something begins to settle in the heart. Worries that were loud during the week grow quiet for a while. Direction returns. The soul feels steadied again.

It is a little like stepping into a warm house after being out in the cold wind. At first your hands are numb and your shoulders are tight. But as you sit there near the fire, the warmth slowly works its way through you. Before long you feel human again.

The preaching of the Word does something like that to the heart.

God takes His ancient promises and speaks them freshly into the lives of ordinary people. And through that simple act of opening the Scriptures and explaining them, the Lord continues to guide His people, strengthen their faith, and remind them who they belong to.

The world may call it foolish.

But those who have experienced the quiet power of God’s Word know that there is nothing foolish about it at all.