http:// jon-walsh.com / journal / 2009 / 08 / grace-and-peace /

Recently, as I was about to wish someone good luck, I started to wonder why I would do such a foolish thing…

If God is with us and in us in spirit, why on earth do we put hope in something as foolish as luck?! Exaggeration aside, we’re obviously just expressing that we care about someone and want things to go well for them. But it’s still worth thinking about why we don’t encourage (in Christ) more than we currently do.

An overseer [yea, I'm getting into the biblical terminology ] of my church recently gave a talk where he happened to mention the way Paul encourages others in his letters:

Grace and Peace.

Without fail, Paul, in every single one of his letters, at both the start and end, will wish a variant of the above to his audience. I decided to check it out for myself…

Ordered by author. Paul’s are ordered by book with 2 per book (start and end). The greeting also appears in most of the other authors’ letters as well.

Paul:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ
The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
Peace to the brothers, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit
Grace and peace to you from God our Father
Grace be with you
Grace and peace to you
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you
Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all
Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord
Grace be with you
Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord
The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you
Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior
Grace be with you all
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit

Anonymous (Hebrews):
Grace be with you all

James:
Greetings (disappointing James :p)

Peter:
Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
Peace to all of you who are in Christ
Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord

Jude:
Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance

John:
Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, will be with us in truth and love
Peace to you
Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people

Well Paul’s certainly into it! So I think we should be too! And so does Matt Davies, who shared the following with me:

gnp2u: Grace and Peace to you

A great way of adding meaning to otherwise thoughtful (but meaningless) greetings and encouragements. Luck is not going to help anyone, and you can’t give it!

So get into it! Start using it in any messages you send; people will ask what it means; then you can tell them! (a great way to evangelise to non-Christians); and then they can start using it.

So Grace and Peace to you all in Christ!