The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen. Galatians 6:18
Paul ends Galatians the same way he ends most of his letters: by praying the grace of our Lord Jesus on the reader. Maybe that’s a good way to end all conversations. Our letters, our phone calls, our emails, our in-person visits. The next time you talk, or hit send, or are getting ready to leave, tell the other person, “the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.”
In our world, they’ll probably look at you funny. Or maybe they’ll say, “well alrighty then,” in disbelief. Or, perhaps, “um, ok then.” If you say that to someone in the West these days, chances are you’ll get some kind of response that indicates the recipient of your blessing thinks it’s a little bit strange that you’d say it.
That’s a tragedy. You and me, we need more Paul in our world. More than that, we need much, much more of the grace of Jesus in our world. More than coffee, I need the grace of Jesus to rule me through my mornings, through the tedious tasks that comprise my daily job. I need the grace of Jesus to govern my conversations, and my responses to my wife, and the things that I put on my to-do list in my age-old Franklin Planner.
You need the grace of Jesus for some of those same reasons, perhaps others. Without the grace of Jesus, my friend, we’re doomed. No, that isn’t some churchy feel-good platitude that we say to express our faux humility. It’s a bare-knuckled fact of life. The grace of Jesus is the glue that holds gravity together. It’s our only real peace. It is what keeps instant worldwide anarchy at bay. Without the grace of God Himself through His Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ our Savior, we are vulnerable to being overrun by the evil one himself.
Yes, there really is a spiritual war for your soul happening right now. Untold forces of Christ fight on your behalf and my behalf every minute. Sometimes their battles spill over in our lives in things that happen that we don’t understand. Sometimes the suffering persists, even entrenches. But the grace of Jesus means that He sends His legions to fight to protect us: so that we might be His eyes and ears and hands, sharing His love. It’s very real and it’s very much happening right now even when we don’t see it.
Praying the grace of Christ over someone blankets them in His protection, His peace. It’s part of doing our part in that war against evil. So, the next conversation you have, end it like Paul does: the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.
All thanks and praise to You Jesus. Cover us today in Your grace and peace.
If you’d like to know more about Practical Proverbials, contact aspiringwriterdt@gmail.com for more information
Practical Proverbs 