…Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Thessalonians 1:2 NIV
Grace and Peace
In an article that asks why Canada is ranked as the 10th most peaceful country in the world, the newcanadian.com website says this: “The Government of Canada focuses on upholding the rule of law in resolving any crisis or uprising within the country. For instance, the government contained separatism in Quebec, a culturally and politically unique province, using the constitution. The implication of this is that while military actions can be helpful, they aren’t usually considered to contain unrest in the country.”
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Many of us send emails regularly through the day. We learn early on that how we start the email sets the tone of the rest of it. This has always been so in correspondence so when the apostle Paul writes his second epistle to the Christians in Thessalonica, a group of believers who were facing persecution for their faith in Jesus, he begins with a blessing. In 2 Thessalonians 1:2 he says, “…Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” This is a simple greeting but filled with the desire that they would experience two of God’s best blessings. Grace is God’s unique provision—unearned, undeserved, yet freely given. It meets us in our weakness, covers our failures, and lifts our eyes back to Him. Peace is what follows when grace takes root in our hearts. It’s the quiet assurance that, no matter what surrounds us, we are held steady by the hand of God. When life feels unsettled, when pressures rise and uncertainty creeps in, we find our loving God providing again and again these two most precious gifts – grace for today and peace for the journey.
These have been words from the heart.
Bob Beasley