Galatians 1:1-5
“Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the evil age, according to the will of our God and Father”
Grace
Do you ask these questions too: How do I get what I need to live life? What are my resources for living life? When I need wisdom or perspective or patience or courage, what do I do? What should I do? What do I depend on when the pressure starts to overwhelm me?
Paul’s answer to these questions is grace, which can be defined as all of God’s resources at Christ’s expense. All we need to handle life are God’s resources, and they are available because Jesus gave Himself for our sins and rescued us from the evil age. These resources–His life–are just waiting for us to use. But how do we do that?
Peace
What do we do when we feel uneasy, out of sorts, at war with ourselves or others, agitated, restless, wound up tighter than a clock? Where do we go? How should we proceed? What should we do?
Paul says that the peace we need in these situations is available because:
- Jesus Christ gave Himself for our sins.
- Jesus Christ rescued us from this evil age.
because:
- God our Father, out of His love for us, wanted this for us.
- God His Father asked Him to give up everything so we could have Him and the life He intends for us.
So what should we do?
- Thank Him for what He’s done.
- Submit to Him as Lord and therefore the one in charge.
- Depend on His life within you.
- Choose behaviors that reflect Him and not this evil age.
- Keep on thanking, submitting, depending, and choosing.
What’s going on in your life and heart today? Are you in need of grace or peace? Is it time to thank, submit, depend, and choose?
