"...Grace to you and peace." -1 Thessalonians 1:1
Though this is a short portion of Scripture and it's easy to read past it, our frail minds will probably never fully comprehend it. It amazes me everyday, that God has said to my heart, "Grace to you." I see my depravity every minute. Why would he give grace to me? I know the basics of the gospel, but how does he give grace to me? Scripture affirms that God is the Creator of the universe, and thinking logically, something can never come from nothing. God is the Creator, and he sustains everything we see and don't see. With this massive view of God, how is it that he can value my little soul so much? Especially, how can his love be so outrageous that he values me after witnessing my idolatry against him? That is unfathomable grace.
What is grace? Put succinctly, grace is unearned kindness. As the commentary in the ESV Study Bible says, grace is "unmerited favor." Any way you look at it, God's gift of grace is remarkable. God's kindness transcends any other kindness that we have ever experienced. God lavishes kindness on sinful souls. It's true that we have not merited his grace. In fact, not only have we not merited his favor, but we have actually gone the other direction. We are not in a neutral state. Assuming a positive state would be earning God's favor, then we are in a negative state. Since we have sinned, and we continue to, we have truthfully committed treason against our Creator. So, not only is His kindness unearned, but it is completely undeserved. This is part of the mystery of God's love and patience toward us.
Likewise, every soul needs peace, and every soul longs for rest. However, true tranquility of the soul cannot be found unless we have grace. If we haven't found true satisfaction in God, then we are still laboring on our own daily to fulfill the deep, gaping hole inside of us. It may be that the approval of people fills it. Or maybe instead of godly ambition, we have the selfish desire for earthly success and fame. Perhaps, we are filling it by a consuming focus on our body and image. Maybe it's something else, but the only satisfying rest available is in Jesus. Therefore, without grace there is no peace.
Praise God for his wonderful offer to give rest to weary souls through his grace.
