“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ.” (Ephesians 1:2, NASB95)
Yesterday I had set aside some time to work on this blog for
a while and attempt to do some deeper study in advance of some of the upcoming
verses. But things didn’t quite work out that way. In our congregation there is
one special husband and wife with a large family who is in the process of
saying goodbye for a while. The husband is hooked up to various tubes and is
not expected to last much longer, and the family has been coming in to be with
him and his wife. This is a very difficult time for them, but as it is with so
many believing couples I have known, it is also a time which is frequently
endured with a sense of peace as they know without a doubt that God’s grace has
been extended to them, and because of that they can prepare to part with great
hope. Yesterday and today I had the privilege of spending some time with them,
and in this observing God’s grace and peace in action.
“Grace” and “peace” are incredible things. So much of the
world lives without any permanent peace, both internally and externally. But
there are those who have discovered how to be at peace even when the things
going on around them are far from peaceful. And grace is that generous kindness
that is extended to another when they are in need and unable to fix things for
themselves. It is here that someone from the outside offers to those on the
inside a help that lifts a burden or takes some things off of their plate, so
that those that remain seem more manageable.
At times like the one mentioned above it could be really
easy to get wound up, especially when you don’t know what is happening next,
you don’t like what is happening, or maybe as it is in some cases when those
involved don’t agree on how it should happen. In these moments rather than
experiencing peace, we can experience tension, frustration, helplessness and
even anger. It is moments like this that we all hunger for a calm in which to
rest while we await what is about to come. It is here where we deeply desire a
place of peace.
But God. Paul wrote, “Grace to you and peace from God our
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” This was his common salutation. It was his
regular greeting. It was his way of saying, “God bless you” with a healthy
reminder of just how He has done so. He reminds those who hear or read this
greeting that both grace and peace are a gift to us from God our Father and His
Son who He sent to save us from our sins, to draw us to Him, and to give us new
life and an everlasting hope—our Lord Jesus Christ.
God loves us so much. Because of our sin we have been
separated from Him, and He chose not to let that stand as a barrier. He
provided the only means by which we can become fully cleansed and brought back
into a relationship with Him. And beyond that we know that He constantly
lavishes His love on us in countless ways. It is Him who shows Himself strong
when we are weak. It is Him who gives wisdom when we lack understanding. It is
Him who knows us intimately and wraps His hands around us. It is Him who holds
us closely when times like the one mentioned above are so very true and
present. God did all of this not because He was obligated to do so, but because
He wanted to out of His love and compassion. This is what grace is. It is God
giving to us what we need as a gift because it is His joy to do so.
And peace, what an incredible result of knowing that we not
only a fully forgiven and will not face judgment for our sins, but that He is
also faithful to keep us until that very moment that He ushers us into His
presence. There is nothing that comes to us that has not been through His
sovereign hands. There is nothing that blindsides Him even though we may be
caught by surprise. God is our constant help, and He has promised Himself to be
faithful even when we struggle in response. We are at peace with the Father
because we’ve been given salvation in the Son. Because Jesus paid for our sins
and rose again, we are fully forgiven and forever made alive. Though our bodies
may fail, and our tents be packed into the dirt, we know from Scripture that He
has for us bodies not made with human hands which are eternal in the heavens.
The inspired and infallible words of Scripture are an incredible source of
these truths, and the Holy Spirit given to each of us who have believed works
to make them alive in our lives.
When the world struggles we can know peace because we have
experienced and continue to experience the incredible grace of God. The last
words Jesus spoke to His disciples before praying to the Father in their
presence on the night He was betrayed (as recorded by John) were, “These things
I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have
tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33, NASB95)
Peace is a condition of the heart resulting from being at rest even in the
midst of tribulation, and the reason we can rest is because of God’s grace
shown to us. Jesus has overcome the world and we are the beneficiaries.
No comments:
Post a Comment