Grace, mercy, and peace . . .

Grace, mercy, and peace . . .

When we write a letter or an email we open with something like  Dear Mary, so good to have seen you yesterday or Hi, Jim!  I hope you’re doing well.   We take a moment to greet the person and offer some expression of goodwill.   This is exactly what Paul did in Scripture:   “To Timothy, my dear child”.   But then he went a little further by offering Timothy God’s “grace, mercy, and peace”.

Of course, some openings are more formal than others.   But when we know the person, these kinds of greetings come out of a true sense of love.   They are a far cry from Dear Sir or To Whom It May Concern.

Paul’s greeting clearly falls in the first category.   Paul expressed his love for his spiritual son, and he took a moment to point Timothy’s eyes to heaven.   He reminded Timothy that God stands ready to fill him with spiritual blessings and to give him peace and assurance of his love.

Look more specifically at the words Paul used.   Grace is God’s unmerited favor.   Mercy is his gift of unlimited forgiveness.   And peace is the gift that flows when we are open to receiving God’s grace and mercy.   There is a sense of fullness to these words—God isn’t stingy with these gifts, and Paul wants Timothy to embrace them more and more deeply.   This “more deeply” that Paul wants for him is less a matter of asking God to give Timothy more blessings and more about Timothy realizing just how much God is offering him every day.

Grace, mercy, and peace.   These gifts are unlimited.   They are constantly flowing into us, day in and day out.   It’s like a waterfall from heaven, a torrent and not a trickle.   It’s always flowing, always ready to flood our souls.

Today, imagine yourself standing under the waterfall.   Let God’s blessings fall on you.   Go ahead and splash about in them.   Tell Jesus that you want to receive all the grace he has prepared for you today.   Then just rejoice in your good, generous, and loving God.

May grace, mercy, and peace be with you today.

word among us