Grace be to you

2Co 1:2 Grace be to you...


What a saluatation!


Grace be to you. What does it mean to say that to someone? Grace be to you. It's the most wonderful thing anyone could truly say to another isn't it? Grace be to you. Grace is the whole message of our Lord's reason for taking on humanity and living among us, choosing to die so we could be forgiven and receive His grace, His forgiveness for our sins. Grace- undeserved forgiveness. Saying those words- grace be to you is bringing the message of Christ's love and forgiveness to others. We are to be ambassadors of Christ spreading the message of grace.


Remember this from my blog a few days ago--


'1Co 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.


By the grace of God I am what I am. Grace is a REAL thing, not just something to mutter in prayer. Paul said- 'His grace which was bestowed upon me was NOT in vain.' Given this gift of grace, freed from sin, forgiven by the Lord, Paul used this miracle as we all should as God directs us. Paul said- 'but I laboured more abundantly than they all yet not I but the grace of God which was with me.' Paul laboured for Christ, but knows it wasn't of himself but by the grace of God with Him. Left to His own devices Paul would have continued to persecute Christ's followers. He knew this. By the grace of God bestowed on Him he lived and laboured. We can all have the grace of God given to us. Do we labour with the grace we receive to bring Christ to others? Can the grace bestowed upon us be in vain? God forbid.'


Grace be to you. Those words offer the knowledge of salvation. A beautiful message we should all be eager to bestow upon others.


It's easy for us to say 'good bye' to someone isn't it? The original context of that word is 'God be with you.' Yet it was shortened so that people no longer mean 'God be with you', they simply mean they are going away.


Saying God be with you is offering the hope to someone, offering God to someone which is what... offering the grace of God.


I don't imagine it would be easy to change our way of speaking and say 'Grace be to you' or even 'God be with you' if we aren't used to doing so. Is it something we might want to try though? We are to bring the message of God's grace to others by His grace. May the Lord guide us in this as we contemplate our words, our lives, our actions.


By the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior now and forever!


Amen.