Grace and Peace

The most important words you may read this week are "hidden" in the opening of a set of 2,000-year-old letters! When the Apostle Paul sat down to write, he typically began with a version of this greeting: “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

"Grace" (charis) was a standard Greek greeting and "Peace" (shalom) was a common one among the Jews. In putting them together, Paul announced that Christ had destroyed the walls between cultures (among other things!) It's always grace first, peace second, because grace is the root and peace is the fruit. You can’t have the peace of God until you have peace with

God. And you only get peace with God through the grace of God in Jesus. 

Grace is the announcement that the war is over and the debt is paid. Peace is the deep breath you take once you realize it’s true. Paul's greeting unfolds the logic and blessing of belonging to Christ: God's grace followed by God's peace - for you! 

 

Anyway and Always

Here's what's cool about that on a Thursday afternoon: Paul wasn't usually writing these words from an ancient version of an Airbnb on the beach. He wrote from prison cells and cities where he’d been pelted with stones, to churches falling apart at the seams.

When Paul says "Grace and peace to you," he isn't wishing us a life free of conflict or trouble; his own life had more than his share of both. He’s offering us a resource that stands independent of current circumstances. We often think peace is the absence of trouble. If the kids behave, if the biopsy is negative, if the bank account is in the black, then we’ll have peace. But the biblical definition of peace is not a vacuum where problems used to be. It’s the presence of something God has given in the midst of problems: the sturdy, constant confidence that comes because God has given us His grace in Christ. Since our ultimate future is secure, God gives us a "different from the world" kind of confidence no matter what today brings. Grace means God is for you. Peace means you can breathe in the sweet comfort of knowing you’re His and He’s got you!

The beauty of being a "grace and peace" people is that it enables a life of radical gratitude. Enables, not guarantees - big difference. (Of course, to be thankful and grateful to God is a choice we must make every day.) The New Testament’s take is that thankfulness isn't a response to good luck but to a good God. So when Paul closes 2 Thessalonians by saying, "Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way" (2 Thes 3:16), he reminds us that this gift continues in all seasons and circumstances. In other words, we can be thankful anyway and always. We can be thankful in the hospital waiting room. We can be thankful when the career path takes a rough turn. Not because the situation is good but because God is, and He is good to us. His grace is sufficient and His peace is available anyway and always.

 

Take It With You

Here are two ideas to "grace and peace" your inner and outer life today.

 

Audit Your Internal Dialogue

If anxiety begins to rise today, stop and re-read or remember the opening of any of Paul's letters. Remind yourself: I have already been given the grace of God. Therefore, the peace of God is mine for the taking. Even as you ask God to change or work in your circumstances, thank Him for the grace that covers them and you.

 

Extend God’s Grace and Peace To Others

We are called to be a "conduit" people, blessed by God to extend to others the "grace and peace" blessings of God. What we receive from the Father ought to flow through to others. So this week, find someone in your world -a coworker, a spouse, a struggling friend-and pass along the gift of grace and peace. Perhaps you could intentionally offer grace in place of judgment,

and peace in place of pressure. Maybe it’d bless them in ways you couldn’t know.

Ours is a treasure that the world didn't give and the world can’t take away. Let’s live like it - grace and peace to you and to me!