Of course, if you've ever read through the New Testament, this verse might seem familiar, since it appears in most of Paul's epistles in one form or another, and it's easy to simply pass it over as nothing more than Paul's usual way of saying "hello." But let me see if there isn't something I can learn from Paul's ubiquitous greeting this morning.
When all else fails (not that it has in this case), I use the standard 3-question approach to scripture reading. Namely, I read the verse and ask myself these three questions about it:
- What does the verse teach me about God?
- What does the verse teach me about me and/or my relationship with God?
- Is there anything about the verse I don't understand or something that challenges me?
God grants grace and peace. That's the first thing I notice and it seems profoundly important and makes me think of a passage from another of Paul's letters, his epistle to the Romans, chapter 5, the first few verses:
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
So, according to this verse, God grants grace through faith in Jesus, whereby we have peace. Peace with God, that it, as opposed to opposition against him.
Notice that it goes on to talk about our sufferings as if they are something to be expected. So the peace he talks about has nothing to do with our situation in the here and now. I mean that our peace will not come about as a result of peaceful circumstances. Just the opposite, I guess - we can have peace in spite of our sufferings because we have peace with God...through grace...through faith...giving us an eternal hope that will not disappoint no matter what this life throws at us.
So when Paul says hello by saying "grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ," it isn't really the same thing as when I wish someone a "good morning." He is stating a fact, that peace is ours through the grace of the loving Father, which he has lavished on us (as he says later in this same chapter...which I'll get to one of these days) through faith in the cross of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
He isn't wishing us grace and peace, he's saying that we already have it, if we'll only accept it.
At least that's what I think.
Father, thank you for the little verses that I sometimes overlook. Thank you for helping me to think about your grace and peace today, and help me to live in your peace through your grace by faith in your son. You are an amazing God and I love you and am awed by your grace. And as I face today's inevitable sufferings, whether great or small, help me to be focused on your presence in my life, your love for me and the certain hope I have through faith in you. Keep my mind ever present with you today, Lord. I want to include you in my every thought. I love you, Father.
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