2 Corinthians 1
Paul always begins his letters with
greetings of grace and peace followed by praise for God because of the
salvation Jesus has won for us. That’s a good way for us to begin our day as
well.
We live in God’s grace – love that He
has poured out on us even though we don’t deserve it. This is key for us. Everything
begins with God loving us. He takes the initiative. He sends His Son. Jesus
chose to sacrifice Himself to redeem us. We receive that love through faith –
another gift from God formed in us by the Holy Spirit. And through faith we
receive forgiveness.
Because we have received grace, we have
peace. The peace here is not merely an absence of conflict, it is peace with
God. Think on that for a minute. Peace with God.
Does this mean we have not always had
peace with God? Yes. That’s exactly what this means. Sin in rebellion against
God. And we have lived in open rebellion against Him. This peace is a great,
great gift and it comes at a high cost:
Jesus’ blood shed on the cross!
How can that be peace? Well, first,
Jesus’ blood cleanses us from all unrighteousness. That restores our
relationship with God. But second, if God loves us that much we can face
affliction, suffering, struggles and death confident of God’s love and mercy. “He
delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us. On Him we have
set our hope and He will deliver us again.”
Peace is often found in knowing we stand on a solid foundation. And that
we do in Jesus.
Paul mentions one of the areas that
peace is displayed in our lives in Vs. 12. “For our boast is this: the testimony of our conscience that we
behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom
but by the grace of God …”
The Gospel changes our priorities. We
don’t need to chase after all the things the world says we need: power, wealth, pleasure, comfort, etc. These
things will all fade anyway. Building our lives of God’s grace and peace in
Jesus allows us to enjoy simplicity and be sincere. We need not play the
“Game.” Focus on God’s grace as the best things you can have – He’s already
given it to you. And be at peace.
Lord, give me Your
grace, and let me be satisfied in it forever. Amen.
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