Grace. Amen.

1 Thessalonians 5:28 "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen."

When a letter to the Christian church ends, the parting words are generally close to the same. This final verse of 1 Thessalonians is pretty representative of many of the letters in the New Testament. While it sounds very nice, I don't think we truly understand the significance here. The writers, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, could have ended their epistles in a myriad of ways, yet the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is present more often than not.

What is this grace?

Grace is defined as: "good will, loving-kindness, favour. Used of the merciful kindness by which God, exerting his holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them to the exercise of the Christian virtues."

Suddenly, ending the epistle with a prayer that the grace of Jesus Christ would be with them, makes a lot of sense. This is basically the entire sanctification process summed up in a single word. God's grace is what draws us closer to Christ, helps us grow in our faith, knowledge, and affection, and spurs us on to "work out our own salvation", showing our faith by our works.

How are you experiencing God's grace in your life? Do you feel it? Do you see it in every single area of life? If you don't, chances are, you're just not looking close enough. Are you letting the holy influence of His grace work in your life to change you to become more like Christ?

Today, my prayer for you is exactly this - May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.