Monday, May 08, 2006

Grace and Peace

Almost all of Paul's letters to the churches in the NT either begin or end with "Grace and Peace". Now I get it....
Imagine these communities of believers...small bands of people, I'm sure very different kinds people, who have come to know Christ. They may have never known each other except for this experience of coming to Christ, they may have nothing in common but Him. They are thrown together in communal life, they have become The Church together....they are the only church in their city and the only ones who believe this strange story of a man dying, then coming back to life, then coming to live inside of them....they have no one but each other. They must stick together but their experience in Him is possibly their only commonality.
Now imagine the friction...the personalities...the power struggles....the financial inequalities.....the insecurities...Spirits are re-born, but souls take years of healing so these people are still people...with issues....
All this is a breeding ground for disaster.....misunderstandings...arguments....offended feelings.....every day, concerning every thing. These people live together, tightly in community...sharing their lives and their faith with one another...they bug each other and get on each others nerves even on the best of days....
The water that washes away the misunderstandings?....the oil that soothes the offences?.....that settles the arguments both large and small??
the only thing that can help you to lay it down when there has been no agreeable solution....
Grace and Peace

10 comments:

Gigi said...

I too am thinking much on GRACE.....takes me to really amazing uncomfortable places.....gonna stay thinking in and on it ...have you read...Yancey's book What's So Amazing About Grace I am doing it with a Womens Group....amazing book.

Buffy said...

Love this post.

Those two words alone...always seem to make me feel better.

Peace be with you.

Gordon said...

Very nice post. It's hard to have one without the other.

Kimber said...

Great perspectives on Grace and Peace!!

Love it!!

Gina said...

I am learning so much about faith right now. This post was a reminder of why. We are so undeserving. His grace is so mighty!

Scott said...

You'll be happy to know that my family and I have gone to church for the last three weekends in a row. If you know me at all, that's one for Guiness. I'm auditing the church, trying it on for size, but it's a start.

Jada's Gigi said...

Yeaaah Scott! while church shopping just keep in mind that people are fallible...God is not. :) I'll be praying you find Him.

Anonymous said...

If I had a nickel for everytime I should be saying Grace and Peace I'd have a lot of nickels

Great post

Anonymous said...

how i am now, still sane inspite of all my problems, is God's grace.

Heidi Grether said...

And how badly I need them both. . .