GRACE AND PEACE BE YOURS

“May grace (spiritual blessing) and peace be given you in increasing abundance –

that spiritual peace to be realized in and through Christ,

freedom from fears, agitating passions and moral conflicts.”

1 Peter 1:2b (Amplified Version)

ĕirēnē¹⁵¹⁵ – peace (lit. of fig.); by impl. prosperity: - one, peace, quietness, rest, + set at one again.

            It’s hard to imagine beginning Sunday school by saying, “Good morning, y’all. Grace and peace be yours in abundance.” I think everyone would look at me pretty strangely. However, I plan to try it next week. It’s even a more remote idea to walk up to a Christian friend at work or in the neighborhood and greet them in this manner. But what a wonderful greeting it is!

            I love the Amplified Version above. Are these the things we hope for our fellow believers? People are torn in so many directions in our lightening paced society. I know I often feel fragmented and agitated. The peace Peter asked the Lord to give his brothers in Christ was a peace that would restore them to wholeness and oneness with God. I desire this peace for myself and pray that you may have it as well. Perhaps if we greet or leave each other with this blessing as Peter did, we can start a movement in the direction of relying on God’s grace for our well-being. When we realize the power we have in Christ to live abundantly as God intended, rather than just exist from day to day, the world might just be turned upside down again!

            Father, help me to bless others not just with words but with loving actions, giving of myself as Christ gave himself for me.