Grace and Peace

In many of the New Testament letters, particularly Paul’s writings, the receiver of the letter is welcomed with 'grace and peace'. As I have reflected on these two words I was challenged to the impact that we as the Christian church could have on this world if we lived with and treated people with grace and peace.

Grace that loves the undeserved and does not judge. Peace that is visible to people in a world which is so hectic.

So often as Christians we feed people with 'information' we think we might be able to argue people into the kingdom of God. The reality is that information does not equal transformation. I believe that if we started to work out what it means to live and show grace and peace in our lives we would see transformation through the Spirit of God in those lives around us.

For me the most exciting question a non-Christian could ask is 'Why?' and in my experiences that does not come through a discussion, but through acts of kindness, through responding to the unlovely with love, to caring for the downcasts, excluded, and rejected... you get my drift...If we started living with grace, living in peace, and living out love I believe we would not just see change in our own lives, but might see transformation in the lives of friends and family!