Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:2).

Paul begins each of his epistles with these words.

And always in this order.  

Grace and Peace

Go ahead and check for yourself.  I’ll wait…

…

…

See what I mean?

Grace comes first, because without grace there can be no peace.

No peace with God

No peace with family

No peace in your own heart

None of it happens without the grace of God.  And why would it? Without grace, you are judged solely on your own merit.

And you know how far that gets you.

Apart from God’s grace, you are a hopeless, pathetic lump, destined for destruction.

Feeling encouraged yet?

Don’t fret–the encouraging part is coming.

Here it is–but you are not apart from God’s grace, are you, Beloved?  If you belong to Him, you have his grace, sufficient to all your needs. Your pathetic lumpiness has been forgiven, atoned for.  You, my friend, are complete, you are whole, you are loved. You are His.

Nope, peace is not something you can earn or deserve or accomplish.

Only receive.

You can’t get there, but you can be there.

Oh, of course you know that already, you being so spiritual and all.

But Paul seems to think it’s worth the reminder, and who am I to argue?

Walk in grace, Beloved.  And know peace.

Happy Thursday