Grace, Mercy and Peace

2 Timothy 1:2 (NIV)
2 To Timothy, my dear son: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Grace, Mercy and Peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.  One of the common greetings of Paul, and other apostles to the readers of their letters.  This was not a prayer for God to grant grace, mercy and peace to their readers.  This was more of a reminder to their readers of what they have from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  A reminder of three blessings, three privileges, that we already have, and are to remind ourselves of everyday as we walk with the Lord.

Grace.  Unmerited Favor.  It’s about what the Lord has given, and continues to grant us day by day.  There is nothing that we have done, or can do that can merit the favor and working of the Lord upon our lives.  Everything we have and do spiritually – our salvation, our relationship with God, our ability to pray, to praise, to worship, to serve Him – all these are because of God’s precious grace upon us.  Oh to live with that understanding moment by moment will…should melt our hearts and bow down with thanksgiving and worship.  This should also move us to serve Him more, give Him more, realizing that what we have – our life, our ability, our strength, our spiritual gift – is all ours because of His grace.

1 Corinthians 15:9-10 (NIV)
9 For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them--yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.

Mercy.  While God’s grace is about His giving, His mercy is about His withholding.  We deserve nothing but wrath, punishment, death because of our sin.  And yet our gracious and holy God has shown mercy towards us, withholding what we naturally deserve, and allowing us to continue to walk with Him and enjoy His graces.

God’s mercy should move us to live lives that are pleasing to Him, owing it all to Him who has graciously withheld His wrath to allow us to enjoy Him.  How we are naturally indebted to those who have shown us favor, who have helped us.  How much more to the One who has shown His utmost grace and has shown mercy by delivering us from His wrath.

Romans 12:1-2 (NIV)
1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship.
2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Peace.  A tranquil heart.  We all look for this, but we look for it in the wrong places.  We pray to God to grant us peace by changing our circumstances, by blessing us with material things, or by changing the people we relate with or deal with.  But this is not where a Christian’s peace comes from.

Our peace should come from only one source – God Himself.  Our peace is in Him, focused on Him – who He is, what He has promised us – so that no matter what we are facing, peace still fills our hearts.

John 14:27 (NIV)
27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

John 16:33 (NIV)
33 "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

Our peace is “in Him”.  John 16:33 is one of the most open and honest words we will hear from our God.  He tells us “in this world you will have trouble”.  There must come a time when we stop asking God “why?”.  This world is full of trouble, and once in a while it will stop in our doorstep and knock on our doors.  But we are to take heart!  Why?  Because our God has overcome the world!  That is why our peace is in Him – in the one who overcame.  We overcome by the One who overcame, with the One who is greater.