2 Corinthians 13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.
How blessed are we as believers in Christ to live in His grace?
How blessed are we as believers in Christ to live in the Father's love?
How blessed are we as believers in Christ to live in fellowship with the Holy Spirit?
God's grace, God's love, and God's intimate presence is with us!
Now as I tried to meditate on what this all means, I couldn't help but think of Jesus' words on that evening when He appeared unto the disciples after His resurrection and said to them, "Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”
HIS PEACE is given to us, and with that, we are sent because of this peace, which is now the reality between us and God!
We have absolute peace with God because of Christ's saving grace, the Father's love for us and because we have fellowship with the Holy Spirit!
Oh, and in case we missed it, Jesus said those words TWICE, "PEACE BE WITH YOU," and after the second time He added, "As the Father has sent me, I also send you."
You see, Christ didn't send us into the world because we earned peace between us and God, it's by His grace we got redeemed and reconciled into absolute peace with the Father.
Oh and just as the Father sent the Son because He loved the world so much, Christ sent us because the Father loves us and wants us to carry that love into the world.
And as Jesus always lived in communion with the Holy Spirit, so are we sent into the world, not alone, in communion, in fellowship with the Holy Spirit.
Paul wanted the church to know this, that we have Jesus' grace, that we are loved by the Father, and that the Holy Spirit is WITH US!
How can any day be the same if Jesus' grace is with us, the Father's love is with us, and the Holy Spirit is with us?
Can you see why we get to enter each day with a peace that's a gift from Christ, His peace, a peace not of this world yet given to us to live out of in this world?!
May all who believe in Christ truly manifest His grace, the love of the Father, and the fruit of having fellowship with the Holy Spirit in all we say and do.
Amen