"Grace to you, and peace from our Lord Jesus Christ."
Paul... a bunch of places
I don't mean to make light of such powerful words, so please do not think there is any hint of disrespect to the man Paul or to his customary greeting and salutation... but he honestly used it at the top and bottom of every letter he wrote.
And given who Paul was and who he became, it is especially powerful that he would understand so very deeply that peace needs to be offered at the beginning and end of everything. And it should be this way because before us (meaning, before creation), there was only God. I imagine that was a pretty peaceful time. And after us, when we arrive in Heaven to worship the Creator for all eternity, and all pain and strife are gone... that will be fairly peaceful, as well, I would assume. So Paul starts and ends in godly fashion, and we should pay careful attention to do the same.
For those of you who know me personally and exchange emails with me frequently, you know that I close my own messages by praying "grace and peace to you and yours" to whomever I am sending. I do this as a personal reminder that I need to shed grace and pray peace on all people... ALL PEOPLE... that I encounter. We all should have a level of focus and dedication, mirroring Paul, to the positive encouragement and uplifting of others through peace.
Take a moment today and think about how you can "increase the peace," as it were, in your own outlook on life. The only person you can control is you, and you should, as Ghandi said, "be the change you wish to see in the world." So be that today! Shed peace on someone... on everyone you meet today. Do it in spirit, in action or in speech, and do it with the grace that IS afforded to you in all circumstances as a saved Christian. The feeling you get will blow you away!
And, as always, grace and peace to you and yours, brothers and sisters.
God bless you all!!!
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