We are truly privileged to be children of God. When we make Him our source, we can live in His rest and offer that rest to those around us.
In his first letter to Timothy, his dear spiritual son, Paul shared several pearls that still edify us today. For example, take what he says in verse 2: “To Timothy, my true son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord” (1 Timothy 1:2 NKJV). If we pause to understand this verse, we truly enter into rest and truly develop the character of Christ.
May “grace…” Christians often describe grace as a gift, the forgiveness of our sins. But grace is much more than that. It is God’s power to accomplish what He asks us to do, as God told Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9, “…My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness…” We can easily become exhausted trying to meet all the requests we receive in a day. But when we bring all these requests back to God and ask Him what He wants us to do today, we receive His grace, strength, inspiration, and understanding to accomplish them. Let’s stop doing everything in our own strength, let’s rely on Him, and let His grace work through us.
“… mercy…” Loving our neighbor is not easy. And it’s even harder to love our demanding bosses or even our surly “exes.” But if we turn to God and let His compassion flow through us, we will have no difficulty loving. We will then see others with His eyes and be able to be merciful. When someone is difficult to love, let us draw from God’s compassion.
“…peace…” Jesus gives us His peace and rest (Matthew 11:28-30). Obviously, when we draw our energy from His grace and love others with His compassion, we are much more serene within ourselves. God’s peace is not the absence of problems, but the confidence that God fights for us and that nothing escapes His mighty hand.
“…from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord” These three essential ingredients are given to us by our Father and our Lord. The world offers us similar solutions: our strength of character, good values, and times of relaxation. But, while these solutions are not bad, there is nothing more effective than what the Father and Jesus give us. Let us not forget to seek out every day our healthy dose of grace, compassion, and peace, which is found only in the Spirit.
And when we are filled with these three essential ingredients, let us take the time to pray that our brothers and sisters will also benefit from them. Let us pray for our pastors, that they may have the grace, compassion, and peace to shepherd their flock. Also take the time to pray for the leaders of Passion374 in each of your regions. Pray that God will give them the grace to organize events, the compassion to endure criticism from participants, and the peace to not worry about the success of their activities. Receive grace, compassion, and peace, but also be sure to extend it to all those around you.