But thanks be to God, which put the same earnest care into the heart of Titus for you. 2 Corinthians 8:16
The term ‘earnest care’ isn’t one we run into every day, not even in the Bible. It combines the best of two important words: The word ‘earnest’ indicates passion, intensity, willingness to sacrifice, and a whole-life commitment. And the word ‘care’ indicates a tenderness, a softness, a pastoral warmth, and a protectiveness. Titus must have been quite an outstanding person for this term to be applied to him. Titus was indeed a wonderful person, but his earnest care is not something that is exclusive to him, it is something that we can all aspire to, and support in others.
In whom should we see earnest care these days? For sure this term should be applied to preachers. As they strive to reach and win the lost souls with the Gospel, preachers must surely have a deep interest in those to whom they carry the message. You and I can’t all be Gospel preachers. But we should all share the same earnest care for poor sinners as the preachers do, and should zealously pray for them, witness to them, and live godly before them. Members of the Assembly oversight should surely be filled with earnest care. Their hearts should be burdened for all that is best for the Lord’s people for whom God has given them responsibility. Their earnest care should cause them to make sure each member of the Assembly is adequately taught, properly encouraged, fully exercised, and constantly abiding in the love of Christ. No, we can’t all be on the oversight of an Assembly, but we can all support and help those on the oversight, praying for them to act in love and wisdom. We can all also share their care for the Assembly and every person in it.
If we consider this expression of earnest care, we can see that none of us is excused from its charge. We can see that this term refers to that which the Lord Jesus would desire to fill our hearts in our relationship with others. Our earnest care is not based on others having an earnest care for us. In fact, earnest care is all the more important when directed toward those who have no care for us, or who don’t appreciate our care for them. For example, our earnest care in the Gospel is often directed toward those who are antagonistic and unappreciative. The earnest care that Titus had for the people in Corinth was without reserve and without thought of recompense. His earnest care was a manifestation of his likeness to Christ.
The greatest example of earnest care is the Lord Jesus. If we would be more like Him, we must learn to have and to display earnest care as He did. -Jim MacIntosh