“May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior give you grace and peace” (Titus 1:4b, NLT).
This short prayer is common to Paul’s letters. If you’re like me, you probably just glance at it before going on to the meatier verses. Or if it’s at the end, it seems like a nice way to end a letter, kind of like “all the best, etc., etc.” But maybe this prayer is worth lingering over and savoring. After all, Paul thought it was important enough to ask God for grace and peace for everyone who read his letters.
God’s grace and peace are infinite but we are in short supply. We desperately need both. Grace: we are living in a state of God’s forgiveness through Jesus. Receiving grace every day reminds us to be thankful and joyful and to extend it to others. Peace: Jesus’ gift, incomprehensible as it seems (Philippians 4:7), gives us a sense of God’s wholeness and goodness (The Message), which we can cling to. Receiving his peace helps us rest in his love and be at peace with our neighbors. Rather than skipping over this familiar passage, we might want to make it our daily prayer, for ourselves and others.
Jesus - Son, Savior, God 