GRACEFUL BEHAVIOR and
PEACEFUL RELATIONSHIPS
Friday, August 13, 2010
Verse for Today
1 Corinthians 1:3 - Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is unusual for a person to write a letter to some close friends and give them grace and peace. If we understand the world in which the writer and the receivers of the letter lived, it would be easy to realize the significance in extending grace and peace. It was a time of lack of grace in behavior and dealings. Because of this, things around were so unpredictably chaotic. There were threats and challenges in life because it was a life of faith which the enemies of gospel did not like a bit. They were not willing to allow peace to prevail. They treated these early Christian believers brutally. They were deprived of their personal belongings and were made homeless. Even their relatives were unwilling to accept them because of their faith. They were not enjoying peace around them and this has affected their inner peace in no small measure. Knowing their situation very well, the Spirit of God enabled Paul, the writer of this letter to greet them with grace and peace. They were reminded by Paul that they could enjoy graceful dealings by the Lord because He treated them as His dear children, in spite of their circumstances and situations, and over and above their weaknesses and failures. He also reassured them of the peace that passed all understanding in spite of their situations. Today we can read these lines in Paul's letter to the Church at Corinth as if it has been written to us, because we live in a world where we do not find graceful and peaceful dealings among people. Most people wear various kinds of masks suitable for the occasions and purposes, and 'act' their parts out rather than dealing with each other in grace. Even those who have received the grace of God in their lives seem to have not been able to produce graceful behavior and conversations. Thus peace is rarely enjoyed by people, because those who got peace from God are not living in peace and passing a peaceful aroma around.
Perhaps you are craving for graceful and peaceful atmosphere where you live, and getting exasperated in not being able to find peace. But we know from the Bible that we can have peace and grace from the Lord Jesus Christ which ought to transform our lives and behaviors. Peace and grace of the Lord ought to trickle down from our whole being so that it would soothe the wounded lives which are around us. Our dealings need to be salty so that it would heal the wounds in others. We should drip drops of consolation, comfort and joy to cool down the dry lives which we encounter each day. When peace and grace abound in us, we should overflow with kindness to touch the painful lives of others around us. As we share the peace and grace of the Lord with others, we abound in it more and more by the working of the Spirit of God in us. This would enable to touch more and more lives. If we abide in Him, we would never run dry, but become full to overflow continuously. This is possible only if we cultivate grace and peace in our lives, for which our lives ought to become fertile fields soaked in tears of continuous brokenness. Grace and peace will grow a hundred fold only if the field is soaked with tears of repentance and brokenness. Remember, we need to allow God's peace and grace to lay hold of us in a dynamic manner so that it will produce fruit which others will be able to enjoy. All trees are for others and all fruits are for others to enjoy and so is the life of a child of God. Today let our lives be the reservoir of peace and grace which will flow from us towards the dry lives around us so that there will be similar fruits in those fields for the glory of God.
James 4:6 - But He gives us more grace. That is why the Scripture says: "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble".
Thought for Today
If we do not share the grace and peace given to us by God, we are hiding it under our flesh like the man who got one talent.
Verse for Today
1 Corinthians 1:3 - Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is unusual for a person to write a letter to some close friends and give them grace and peace. If we understand the world in which the writer and the receivers of the letter lived, it would be easy to realize the significance in extending grace and peace. It was a time of lack of grace in behavior and dealings. Because of this, things around were so unpredictably chaotic. There were threats and challenges in life because it was a life of faith which the enemies of gospel did not like a bit. They were not willing to allow peace to prevail. They treated these early Christian believers brutally. They were deprived of their personal belongings and were made homeless. Even their relatives were unwilling to accept them because of their faith. They were not enjoying peace around them and this has affected their inner peace in no small measure. Knowing their situation very well, the Spirit of God enabled Paul, the writer of this letter to greet them with grace and peace. They were reminded by Paul that they could enjoy graceful dealings by the Lord because He treated them as His dear children, in spite of their circumstances and situations, and over and above their weaknesses and failures. He also reassured them of the peace that passed all understanding in spite of their situations. Today we can read these lines in Paul's letter to the Church at Corinth as if it has been written to us, because we live in a world where we do not find graceful and peaceful dealings among people. Most people wear various kinds of masks suitable for the occasions and purposes, and 'act' their parts out rather than dealing with each other in grace. Even those who have received the grace of God in their lives seem to have not been able to produce graceful behavior and conversations. Thus peace is rarely enjoyed by people, because those who got peace from God are not living in peace and passing a peaceful aroma around.
Perhaps you are craving for graceful and peaceful atmosphere where you live, and getting exasperated in not being able to find peace. But we know from the Bible that we can have peace and grace from the Lord Jesus Christ which ought to transform our lives and behaviors. Peace and grace of the Lord ought to trickle down from our whole being so that it would soothe the wounded lives which are around us. Our dealings need to be salty so that it would heal the wounds in others. We should drip drops of consolation, comfort and joy to cool down the dry lives which we encounter each day. When peace and grace abound in us, we should overflow with kindness to touch the painful lives of others around us. As we share the peace and grace of the Lord with others, we abound in it more and more by the working of the Spirit of God in us. This would enable to touch more and more lives. If we abide in Him, we would never run dry, but become full to overflow continuously. This is possible only if we cultivate grace and peace in our lives, for which our lives ought to become fertile fields soaked in tears of continuous brokenness. Grace and peace will grow a hundred fold only if the field is soaked with tears of repentance and brokenness. Remember, we need to allow God's peace and grace to lay hold of us in a dynamic manner so that it will produce fruit which others will be able to enjoy. All trees are for others and all fruits are for others to enjoy and so is the life of a child of God. Today let our lives be the reservoir of peace and grace which will flow from us towards the dry lives around us so that there will be similar fruits in those fields for the glory of God.
James 4:6 - But He gives us more grace. That is why the Scripture says: "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble".
Thought for Today
If we do not share the grace and peace given to us by God, we are hiding it under our flesh like the man who got one talent.
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