Grace and Peace

Grace and peace be yours in abundance…  2 Peter 1:2

Grace.  Peace.  Be yours in abundance!

Don’t you want that?  I do.

What is grace exactly?  And why is it that nearly every book of the epistles (letters written by Christ’s disciples) begins and ends with a wish for grace and peace?  There has to be something special about these two.  Right?

Definitions:

grace – the free and unmerited favor of God, as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowal of blessings.

peace – freedom from disturbance; quiet and tranquility; freedom from or the cessation of war or violence.

Hmmm.  I’m in!  Give me that unmerited favor, Lord!  I daily put on the helmet of salvation and seek Your favor – Your grace in abundance – Yes!  I want that.

Peace.  Freedom from disturbance…tranquility.   Yep!  I want that, too.  Don’t you?

Recently, I was talking about an upcoming fun run with a group of runners, and one of them pulled out the flyer.  We wanted to know when the event  started.  Four sets of eyes peered at the paper, but it took a few moments before any one of them saw the date and time which happened to be in the second largest print on the page.  We all skipped right over it as we scanned the text.  Why is that?

I remarked on our all missing it by saying, “Look, we’re all trained to head right for the fine print!  We totally overlooked the subtitle on the page.  Wow!”

I think this is true in our Bible-reading as well.  We tend to skip right over the introductions, because they sound alike, and they have become mundane to us.  But take a moment and listen closely (read carefully) to the lines that are part of the opening in each of Paul’s epistles.  In eight of his letters, Paul repeats this same wish for his readers.  He writes:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.  Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 3, 2 Corinthians 1:2, Galatians 1:3, Ephesians 1:2, Philippians 1:2, 2 Thessalonians 1:2, Philemon 1:3

Variations of the same greeting are found in Paul’s letter to the Colossians and the Thessalonians as well.

Interestingly, Paul opens his first and second letter to Timothy this way:  Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. 

I wonder why mercy made it into the greeting this time?  Did Timothy need to hear that God is merciful as well as full of grace?  Perhaps Timothy needed assurance that God not only gives us unmerited favor, but He also refrains from giving us our due punishment for sin?  God is merciful.  Had Timothy stumbled?  Did he desperately need to know that the Lord is a judge who is full of grace, peace and mercy?  Or maybe…just maybe, Paul himself had experienced the mercy of God in a new and deeper way, and so this was a fresh revelation to him.

To Titus, Paul’s words vary only slightly in describing Christ Jesus.  Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. Titus 1:4

Perhaps Titus needed to remember that Jesus is not just his Lord (Master), but also his Deliverer from sin and judgment.

Paul opened each of his letters with a wish for the grace and peace of God.  This must have been something that was always at the forefront of Paul’s mind.  And doesn’t that make sense?  God had granted him favor time and again.  In the face of great persecution, beatings, and imprisonment, Paul knew the peace of God that surpasses all comprehension.  He’d been caught singing while shackled in chains.

God’s grace and peace – these were not minor blessings to Paul, but they were his very source of strength.  Without God’s grace and peace, the apostles would not have endured what they did, and Paul knew it.  He desired that all God’s people would know the amazing grace and peace of God.

Clearly, grace and peace are worth seeking after, and we as Christians can want nothing better for each other than to know God’s grace and peace, but how do we find it?  That is a great question.

How Do We Find Grace and Peace?

Let’s turn to Peter’s greetings and see how he opens his letters.

In Peter’s first epistle he writes, simply:

Grace and peace be yours in abundance.  1 Peter 1:2

In the second letter, he adds something more…

Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.  2 Peter 1:2

Hmmm.  How do we attain to this grace and peace of God?  How do we receive this unmerited favor and divine tranquility?

…through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord!

That’s how.

Do. You. Know. God?

If you do, you will also know His grace and peace.  You will experience His rich mercy and love, and the blessings of God will become your dearest possessions.  You can know tranquility.  You can know that you are saved from the tyranny of sin; the battle can be over, and you can be free from disturbance.  Peace can be yours in abundance.

How do we come to know God?

We seek Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.  We look to His Word, the Bible.  We pray.  We spend time in quiet, and we expect that He will meet us in the sanctuary of our hearts.  We develop a very personal friendship with God because we realize that apart from Him we have no good thing (Psalm 16:2) and we can do no good thing.  (John 15:5)

Grace.  Peace.  Yes.  Let’s pray that we recognize and receive God’s grace and peace in abundance.  These are promises He gives to those who simply place their hope and trust in Him.

Grace and peace be yours in abundance, Friend.  

Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.  Luke 2:14