November 30th
Second Day of Advent
Grace to you and peace from God our Father.
Colossians 1:2b
The Christian life offers grace and peace, a life of freedom, abundance, and wholeness. Paul greets the Colossians with these two words, words emphasizing the foundation of Paul’s teaching.
What is grace? Grace is God’s gift of forgiveness and redemption found in Jesus Christ. This gift is not a one-time shot in the arm, an inoculation against the fiery pit. Instead, God invites us to embrace this gift as an entirely new way of life, a continuous journey in relationship with our Creator. Grace sets our feet onto a new pathway in Christ, providing us with both abundant life and transformation.
Grace is always available.
Grace offers an ongoing intimacy with Jesus.
Grace transforms our failures into new life and our mistakes into growth.
Jesus calls us to join Him onto His pathway, a place of resting, abiding, and walking with Him.
What is peace? Peace includes two blessings: true personal contentment that defies circumstance; and the wider joys of being in Christ’s family. This means that, in Christ:
We can rest in His goodness.
We can trust Jesus with our brokenness.
We are no longer alone.
We belong to God’s community as adopted children.
We belong to God’s story of redemption.
He knows our name.
He bottles our tears.
He knows the number of hairs on our head.
Our Creator provides us with true purpose and fulfillment as we follow Him. This is true peace. Even within our brokenness, we can experience a life of belonging, fulfillment, and purpose.
This season of Advent invites us to embrace the beautiful gifts of grace and peace. As we wait for the birth of our Savior, let us be still, absorbing the present moment and approaching the throne of grace with gratitude and praise. And, as a people filled with grace and peace, let us share these gifts with friends, neighbors, family members, strangers. Let us share the light of Christ.
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