Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (1Th 1:1 NKJ)

How many times have you read one of the epistles of the New Testament, and not given a thought to those introductory remarks? Paul speaks grace and peace; Peter says, “Grace to you and peace be multiplied.” (1Pe 1:1-2 NKJ) In 2 John we find ‘grace, mercy and peace.’ Instead of just looking at these words as just that, try thinking of them as precious gifts, wrapped up and containing something special.  In a sense, that is what the Apostle Paul had in mind.  His opening blessing was bestowing something into the reader’s life.

In our western culture, we seem to have lost the art of polite conversation and in the essence of time keep our conversations brief.  With the advent of texting, words have been reduced to abbreviations such as ‘lol’ as an expressing that something is funny or ‘HBD’ for Happy Birthday.’ Had Paul used a smartphone a text greeting of ‘GP’ for grace and peace just doesn’t seem the same.

In the Islamic culture, Muslims still greet each other with a blessing of peace.  Perhaps we would do well to do the same, after all, we could all do with a deposit of God’s grace, peace, and mercy in our daily lives.  Remember, the words you speak can have life or death.  Use them wisely to deposit something good into somebody’s life. So, may the blessings of God’s grace and peace fill your heart today!