A Thought From the Word

“To Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.” II Timothy 1:2

Paul often started his letters with this same sentiment: grace, mercy and peace from God. It was a desire and prayer of Paul for the individual or individuals to whom he was writing. Was he trying to sound flowery, was this just a habitual opening line, or was there something deeper in these words?

Paul was doing more than merely filling up space when he wrote these words. As a man, he recognized that young Timothy and whoever else he wrote these words to, needed exactly these same blessings. No matter how strong we are spiritually or how faithful we have been to the Lord, we constantly need fresh supplies of grace, mercy and peace. If God were to remove these favors for just one day, we would all see just how valuable that they are.

Imagine a day without mercy. Every sin one commits would bring flaming justice back down on him with fury. Oh, how we need mercy. We are weak, flawed and make countless mistakes before God. While He does not condone our sin, how thankful I am for His mercy.

Next, ponder a day void of grace. You would be left to your own strength. You would not get any help or strength from God, because no one deserves it. You would have no one qualified to usher you into God’s presence to have a hearing. You would be all on your own. What a dreadful thought!

Lastly, this day also is without peace. It would be a day of overwhelming fear, anxiety and worry that would paralyze us. We would see things as completely out of control and our lives would be a wreck.

Do you see how much we need these three things now? Grace, mercy and peace. What sweet words! These favors come from God. We need them desperately and are ruined without them. Seek God for these things and as Paul did, pray God to give them generously to others as well.

-Timothy Guess