Preparing for corporate worship

“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 1:7b). Paul offers this exact blessing to readers early in seven of his 13 letters in the New Testament, and his other six letters include similarly worded blessings. A few observations regarding this blessing are in order, I think, as we prepare for corporate worship this Sunday. First, notice the word order. Grace precedes peace. There is no peace for us without grace. Second, this grace and this peace are divine in their source. They are from the Father and the Son. The Father and the Son both sacrificed deeply for undeserving sinners. We received grace – unmerited favor – as a result. Third, one Christian is extending grace to other Christians. When Paul wrote to his brothers and sisters in Christ, he never lost sight of the reality he was a recipient of God’s grace and so were they. On the basis of God’s grace toward him, he was free and compelled to offer grace to others. As we gather this Sunday, may we be aware of God’s grace toward us and our fellow worshipers, and may we extend it to one another with that awareness and with the glory of God as our goal.