Peace
Paul starts all his letters with the salutation of peace and grace to the Saints; in II Timothy, he declares:"Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord." Timothy holds a tender place in his heart, so this salutation is personal. Peter's first epistle enjoins "Grace unto you, and peace be multiplied."
Do we find that grace and peace are multiplied in our lives? (Do I hear someone out there laughing on the edge of hysteria? Several someones?) Are we mindful of grace? How do we find peace in our busy crazy lives, much less multiply it?
The best definition of grace I ever heard was offered by a Sunday School teacher when I was in high school. He said grace could be understood in three words: "and Christ came." All that we were unable to do, all the help we needed to become pure enough to return to our Father, all the burden which had to be borne for us, all that we so needed--he loved us and valued us so much that he stepped into the role; he answered the demands of the law, he carried our sorrows, and he opened the way. He holds that way open for us always. We didn't have to deserve it first; the need was there, and Christ came.
Remembering that we are blessed by the grace of God through our Savior's love, our recompense to him is gratitude, repentance, and service. That is part of being blessed with peace, because peace will flow out of those attitudes and actions..
Peace is one of the fruits of the Spirit. It keeps wonderful company: "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance...." (Galatians 5:22-23a) Maybe instead of 'multiplying' peace, we can think of 'magnifying' peace, like the direction to magnify one's calling. Of course, we sometimes struggle with that concept, too. To magnify would be to enlarge, to draw closer so we can see more clearly, to expand, and it doesn't happen without humble prayer, faithful desire, and our best effort. We are promised that our Father in Heaven will direct us, strengthen us, and never leave us limited to our own capacities. Isn't that amazing? He will help us do better than we are capable of doing by ourselves. Since he usually calls us to do more than we know how, that is often crucial.
Having his presence, feeling his support and his love with us, calms all our troubles and opens our heart to his peace. We can magnify and multiply peace and grace by spending time with him in prayer and in his word as given to us in scripture. If we focus on spiritual things, we will feel the Spirit more and more, and be able to discern more and more of what he would have us understand.
Ah, but life is still busy, crazy, and everything is going wrong today and I'll never get everything done. Take a deep breath, push all other fears away, and ask him to carry you through. Grace is that he knows and loves us, peace is that he will be with us no matter what; multiplying grace and peace is that we count on those truths and go forward no matter what else is going on. Commit some time every day to stillness and prayer and remembering that we are carried in the arms of his love, always, and our awareness of that love will bloom into glory. That is his promise.
Do we find that grace and peace are multiplied in our lives? (Do I hear someone out there laughing on the edge of hysteria? Several someones?) Are we mindful of grace? How do we find peace in our busy crazy lives, much less multiply it?
The best definition of grace I ever heard was offered by a Sunday School teacher when I was in high school. He said grace could be understood in three words: "and Christ came." All that we were unable to do, all the help we needed to become pure enough to return to our Father, all the burden which had to be borne for us, all that we so needed--he loved us and valued us so much that he stepped into the role; he answered the demands of the law, he carried our sorrows, and he opened the way. He holds that way open for us always. We didn't have to deserve it first; the need was there, and Christ came.
Remembering that we are blessed by the grace of God through our Savior's love, our recompense to him is gratitude, repentance, and service. That is part of being blessed with peace, because peace will flow out of those attitudes and actions..
Peace is one of the fruits of the Spirit. It keeps wonderful company: "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance...." (Galatians 5:22-23a) Maybe instead of 'multiplying' peace, we can think of 'magnifying' peace, like the direction to magnify one's calling. Of course, we sometimes struggle with that concept, too. To magnify would be to enlarge, to draw closer so we can see more clearly, to expand, and it doesn't happen without humble prayer, faithful desire, and our best effort. We are promised that our Father in Heaven will direct us, strengthen us, and never leave us limited to our own capacities. Isn't that amazing? He will help us do better than we are capable of doing by ourselves. Since he usually calls us to do more than we know how, that is often crucial.
Having his presence, feeling his support and his love with us, calms all our troubles and opens our heart to his peace. We can magnify and multiply peace and grace by spending time with him in prayer and in his word as given to us in scripture. If we focus on spiritual things, we will feel the Spirit more and more, and be able to discern more and more of what he would have us understand.
Ah, but life is still busy, crazy, and everything is going wrong today and I'll never get everything done. Take a deep breath, push all other fears away, and ask him to carry you through. Grace is that he knows and loves us, peace is that he will be with us no matter what; multiplying grace and peace is that we count on those truths and go forward no matter what else is going on. Commit some time every day to stillness and prayer and remembering that we are carried in the arms of his love, always, and our awareness of that love will bloom into glory. That is his promise.
Comments
Post a Comment