DOES BEING RESCUED, AND GIVEN GRACE, PEACE AND LOVE SOUND APPEALING?

BIBLE PASSAGE:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 
Who gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, 
according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever 
and ever. Amen. 
(Galatians 1:3-5)

MEDITATION:
When Paul wrote his letter to the churches in Galatia, the first thing 
he did was remind them of how gracious God had been to mankind.
Grace refers to ‘elegance or refinement of movement’, but when Paul used 
the word, he was referring to ‘the free and unmerited favor of God’.
He even alluded to how His grace 
was manifested through Jesus Christ, Who gave Himself for our sins.

Paul was subtle in referring to Jesus Christ as our Savior.
He told the Galatians, and us, that when Jesus gave Himself for us, 
we were ‘rescued’ from ‘the present evil age’. 
It is clever how in just a few words, Paul connected 
the sacrifice of Jesus to the Will of our God and Father.

Evilness has always been with us.
It was present in the days of Paul, 
and it is present in the world we live in today.
In his ingenuity, man can fashion all kinds of attempts to eradicate the 
evilness, but even with his best efforts, evilness still pervades our world.

When evilness is present, peace can be difficult to achieve.
Paul knew this and he associated peace with ‘God our Father’.
He wanted others to know that only God 
can provide peace for those living in a stormy world.

In many ways, mankind tries to distract himself from the evilness, but 
regardless of how hard we try, it remains as a continual threat to our peace.
God is the only source for bringing about genuine peace in our lives.
However, there are many who still refuse to call on Him 
and surrender their lives to our Rescuer and Savior.

In the last part of his salutation to the churches in Galatia,
Paul offered up praise to the God of grace and peace. 
Since he was part of the evil threat to believers at one time,
he knew what it meant to be radically changed by God.
He was grateful for his rescue 
and continually praised God for His graciousness.

An example of grace:
Years ago King Charles V was loaned a large sum of money by a merchant in Antwerp. 
The note came due, but the king was bankrupt and unable to pay. 
The merchant gave a great banquet for the King. 
When all the guests were seated and before the food was brought in, 
the merchant had a large platter placed on the table with a fire on it. 
Then, taking the note out of his pocket, 
he held it in the flames until it was burned to ashes. 
The king threw his arms around his benefactor and wept.

In the same manner, we have been mortgaged to God. 
Our debt is due, but we are unable to pay. 
However, over two thousand years ago, God invited the world to a Gospel 
feast, and in the agonies of the cross, God held your sins and mine 
until every last remnant and every trace of our guilt was consumed.
We, like King Charles V, owe God our complete and sincere gratitude.

ACTION:
Words are important, so choose yours carefully.
What you say can lift the spirits of others, 
or create a whirlpool of discouragement.
Paul’s salutation to the Galatians sounds like a nice greeting,
but as we have seen, it is much more than just an opening to a letter, 
it is a message about the goodness and grace of God, 
and how His plan is a manifestation of His love for you 
through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ.

When God looks at mankind, He could ‘write us off’ as hopelessly evil,
but with our Heavenly Father, hopelessness is transformed in to hopefulness. 
Whenever you look at a cross, or hear about Jesus, it should stir 
your emotions so that you praise God for His love and grace to you.

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, out of gratitude I kneel before You and thank You for 
loving me in spite of my failures. Thank You for Your unmerited grace 
through Jesus, Who gave Himself for me and my sins, and rescued me
when all hope seemed lost. Thank You for the peace You offer me in an
evil world that is bent on creating turmoil.”