Paul, a
bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of
God, which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures,
concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the
flesh, who was declared the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of
holiness by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom
we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith
among all the Gentiles in behalf of His name, among whom you also are the
called of Jesus Christ; to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as
saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
“Grace to you
and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” What wonderful
words, “grace and peace,” knowing they come from “God our Father and
the Lord Jesus Christ.” Can I really desire anything more today? Can I
really desire anything more when I draw my last breath? What about you?
The letter to
the Romans, as indeed the entire Bible, is the story of how God our Father and
our Lord Jesus Christ bestow grace and peace on us and infuse grace and peace
within us – but at what cost! O the fathomless love of God for us! “For God so
loved the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son!” “…who loved me and gave Himself up for me”
(Gal. 2:20).
We have been “justified
as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus” (Rom.
3:24).” “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction
by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory
of God” (Rom. 5:1 -2).
O how we should
ever protect our standing in grace, how we should flee from anything that would
seduce us into our own works, our own righteousness, our own self-justification.
"You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by
law; you have fallen from grace” (Gal. 5:4).
There are many facets
to grace and peace, but there is only one Source of true grace and peace, and
that is God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Father bestows grace and
peace on His daughters and sons, our Lord Jesus Christ showers grace and peace
on His brothers and sisters, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you;
not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor
let it be fearful” (John 14:27).
It takes a
lifetime, and more, to understand and experience grace and peace; actually, as
Paul tells us, the peace of God exceeds our understanding (Phil. 4:7), and the
same can be said for His grace. We can view a thousand photos of the Grand
Canyon, but nothing can take the place of a personal encounter with this great
wonder. We can read definitions of God’s grace and peace, we can hear the
testimonies of others concerning God’s grace and peace, but nothing can
substitute for our own experience of God’s grace and peace; nothing can quite
so humble us, nothing can take our breath away, nothing can introduce us to
such an awe and reverence for the Divine, as our own encounter with God’s grace
and peace through our Lord Jesus Christ.
But I write of a
way of life, not an isolated experience without a root system. For in God’s
grace and peace the seemingly inconsequential in a seemingly mundane day is
clothed with the grandeur of God. Grace and peace in Christ become the air we
breathe, our biosphere, that which conveys the ever-present life of God in Christ
to our entire being.
Now then, if God
bestows His grace and peace on us, we are called to bestow that same grace and
peace on others (Matthew 5:38 – 48; Ephesians 4:32 – 5:2; 2 Cor. 1:3 – 7). In
fact, we are called to make peace, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall
be called sons of God” (Matt. 5:9).
“Grace and peace
to you, from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.” Can we make this our
prayer for others? When standing in line in a store, can we pray this for those
around us? When pumping gas, can we pray this for those we see? When stopped at
a traffic light, will we pray this for those in other vehicles? When thinking
of family, friends, neighbors, coworkers…might we pray for them to receive the
grace and peace of God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ?
We cannot
purchase grace and peace, we cannot earn it, we cannot merit it, we cannot
deserve it; but we can receive it – from God our Father and our Lord Jesus
Christ; and having received it, we can pass it on to others.
There is no
sweeter air we can breathe, no surer source of life, than the grace and peace
of Jesus Christ and God our Father.
Amen.
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