Grace and Peace

by Skip Heitzig | March 1, 2024

I want to begin with an interesting story I've always loved: The emperor Caesar Augustus heard about a man in Rome who owed a lot of money. He was in great debt, but he was very peaceful, and every night he slept well on his bed. And Augustus, because he was not a peaceful person, told his men, "Find where he lives and buy his bed." He thought the solution was the right Sleep Number mattress.

Of course, we know you don't get peace that way. Peace is the ability to sleep with a clear conscience before God, having your mind and your heart at ease.

In the apostle Paul's letter to the church in Colosse, he greeted them by saying, "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ" (Colossians 1:2). When Paul wrote, "Grace and peace to you," it was a very typical way to begin a letter. In ancient times, letters began with the author, the recipient, and some word of greeting. And in his epistle, Paul uniquely combined the greetings of the Western and Eastern worlds.

The common Greek greeting when you saw somebody was chairein, which means rejoice. When the Jews saw each other, they say said, "Shalom," which means peace. Paul used both, but instead of chairein, he used the word charis from the same root word, meaning grace.

In every letter from Paul, you find "Grace and peace to you," and always in that order, never "peace and grace." Why? You can never understand the peace of God until you have experienced the grace of God. And when you experience grace—His unmerited, undeserved favor—it produces peace. Grace is the fountain; peace is the stream that flows from it.

So, do you have peace? Do you live your life with the experience of peace, or are you filled with anxiety, worry, and torment? Perhaps you're not experiencing peace because you haven't yet experienced God's grace. In fact, the basis for living for Jesus Christ in a world that's opposed to Him is to have God's grace and peace.

Years ago, a Barna Group survey asked, "If you could ask God one question and you knew He would answer you, what would you ask Him?" Most people said they want God to explain why there's so much pain and suffering in the world. But a close second was, "Will there ever be world peace?"

Well, I'll just say it. No, not until Jesus comes. But I will also say this: there's peace in me. I experience peace. I can be in situations that are very tough and troubling, but I have peace. And you can have peace too. No matter what you're going through, you can have God's peace.

Paul said, "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1). Peace can be—should be—your experience. But you need to experience God's unmerited favor to get there.

Maybe you've never turned over the hardship of your life sufficiently to let Him handle it. You could be a child of God tormented. You need to turn over that heartache to Him right now. Or maybe you haven't yet turned your life over to Him. (You can do that right now.)

We have lots of questions and issues, but God has the solution. He is the solution, in Jesus Christ, His Son. I pray you would let those two words, grace and peace, seep into your soul. And as you turn over your anxiety to the Lord and trust Him with it, you can walk away knowing it's in good hands. As you become aware of His grace, He will help you to experience His peace.

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