Greeting of Grace

A teacher in Bible class I attended recently pointed out something I had never noticed before in Paul’s writings. Every book he writes begins and ends with a greeting of grace. For example, he says “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” at the start of his letter to the Romans (Romans 1:7).  He ends his letter to Timothy with “The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.” (2^nd Timothy 4:22) The word grace was a common expression among the Greek speakers. To some it may be thought of as only an expression, such as how people today use “God bless you” or “have a blessed day”, but to Paul it was so much more.

He understood the vital nature that grace has in the life of a believer. Without grace we could not be saved (Ephesians 2:5, Titus 2:11).  Grace strengths our hearts (Hebrews 13:9). Our words are to be measured by grace (Ephesians 4:29, Colossians 4:6). It allows us to be capable of good works (2^nd Corinthians 9:8). Grace is an essential beginning and end point for the faithful.

It makes me think about how I view grace in my life. Do I start each day realizing that my life is only possible because of God’s grace? Do I end each night thinking about how all the blessing I received are God’s gracious gift. Do I spend the day being gracious to others and reflecting the grace shown to me? Am I living my life in obedience to God or have I “accepted the grace of God in vain” (2^nd Corinthians 6:1). Is grace just an excuse for wrongdoing or the hope for my future?

As we beginning this New Year I hope we all will reflect on how much God has shown us his unmerited favor, how blessed we are because of his love and favor, and how we can spread the knowledge of that grace given in Jesus to the world.