Grace and Peace

"Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." Romans 1:7(b)

I was having a good conversation with a fellow believer in her 80's the other day.  It was one of those chats where the Holy Spirit is present and you are enjoying the moment.  It is true Christian fellowship in the presence of the Holy Spirit, or Koinonia.  Koinonia, a Greek word,  is a result of friendship among Christians, the body of Christ, where the Holy Spirit is the connecting tissue.  

As we talked, my friend said something like, "I'm satisfied in my present state without any great ambition to go out and do anything for the Lord."  Of course, the present pandemic limits all of us, but I sensed something greater, something beyond this current situation.  I felt that what she was feeling was "grace and peace." Certainly, we must always be willing to obey the Lord in anything He might ask.  Yet, she had arrived at a place that we all should seek, a state of grace and peace.  She said, "she felt no great ambition".  In my early years of ministry, much of my "great ambition", my motivation to serve the Lord was a desire to please Him, build something and to be successful.  I was driven by it.  I had grace but didn't enjoy much peace in my daily life.  My stress level wasn't much different from business people in the world.  It is interesting that in this verse and other verses that "grace" precedes "peace".   Grace comes before peace.  You can't live in peace without grace.  Grace when it is experienced with faith in what Jesus did on the cross releases us from a performance based relationship with God and brings us into a Holy Spirit led life.  The result will be less effort of the flesh and more fruit in life and service.  There is a deliverance that comes with true grace that brings a release from the burden and motivation of what men think and require of us.  There will always be a certain amount of it in life but not to the point of living a performance driven life.  How do we get there, even if you are young and just starting your journey with the  Lord?  Spend more time with the Lord and learn to experience His fellowship.  There is a work to this because your natural man craves results and man's approval.  It is actually much easier on the flesh to work from ambition than to work to live in true fellowship with Jesus.  His fellowship with us must be more rich and important to us than accomplishments or  fellowship with anyone on this earth.  We certainly need wholesome fellowship on earth, but our sustenance doesn't come primarily from there, it comes from genuine fellowship with Him in His Word, worship and prayer. Time with God enhances and enriches His Grace which leaves us with a greater deposit of peace.  The result will be that we will accomplish more because it will be a work of the Holy Spirit and will result in true fruit that remains.