Grace & Peace

How do you view God? Are you afraid to go to Him, or do you know that you need to go to Him with all your problems? In this letter of Paul, his message to the believer begins and ends with grace – "Grace to you," he says. But he also makes a declaration of peace – which is something that is sorely needed in the constant battle that has been kept up between God and man since the Fall. Ever since that dreadful day, we have been shaking our fist at the Lord and asserting that we can fix ourselves without any of His help. Even though He has already provided a way whereby our hearts can be made right with Him again, we still tend to think that we need to as much as we can on our own before peace can exist between us. But we are like a broken plate – yes, you may be able to put the pieces back together again; but nevertheless, the plate is still cracked. Only God can completely fix us, and Christ opened the way for this to become possible by giving His own life for us. And now, when – like the prodigal son in the parable – we return to our Father; we can expect Him to show us His love, mercy, and grace! We don't earn His love by our service; rather, we begin to serve Him because He loves us. Are you asking yourself today, "Am I good enough?" Or are you trusting in the fact that Jesus is already good enough, and that we have been wrapped in the spotless robe of His perfect righteousness?