Bless you … and God, bless me! 1 Timothy 1.2

Bless you … and God, bless me! 1 Timothy 1.2

Hello.

Paul starts his letter to Timothy as he began all his other letters—with a blessing:

Grace, mercy, and peace

from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.

Picture with me the young Pastor Timothy, leading a church filled with challenges . . . he is tired and in much need of direction and encouragement. Then it comes … a thick letter from his beloved mentor and spiritual guide. What time of day was the parchment brought to him? What was Timothy doing? Wouldn’t matter, because he would have likely stopped what he was doing, secreted himself, and sat down to savor every word, like succor to a starving army commander. How he loved Paul! And here was a letter to encourage, instruct and inform Timothy how to keep on doing what God had called him to do.

As always, Paul begins his letter with a blessing, praying that Timothy will know and experience the grace, mercy, and peace of God. Ah, we’ve talked extensively about the incredible grace and peace of God in past briefings, but with the two bracketing this blessed greeting, it becomes all encompassing. You see, the Greeks understood grace as a beautiful thing ~ lovely, generous and sweet. From the writers of the New Testament, particularly Paul, grace took on the meaning of universality and unmerited favor. And to have it bestowed on the child of God, like Timothy, well—it was seen as even greater—as it came from the King!

On the other hand, there was ‘Shalom’ ~ a common Jewish greeting. Shalom is one of many words that simply does not translate its full meaning into English. As Paul speaks a blessing of peace over Timothy, it is in his heart that Timothy will know contentment, rest, wholeness, well being, tranquility and harmony, as well as the absence of any discord in his life. (Do you see how much is encapsulated in the Hebrew word shalom?)

Now, marry Grace to Peace and we have a sweet deal: Paul wanted everything good and right for Timothy whom he loved so much--to know generosity of spirit, favor, contentment, rest, general well being, harmony with others, and inner tranquility.

But in between, the apostle blesses Timothy with mercy, in addition to grace and peace. This is quite telling. You see, the Greek word for mercy is eleos and is usually translated loving kindness … so it was Paul’s highest desire that God be good to Timothy; but, get this—the Hebrew word for mercy is chesedh.*

Chesedh is a cry for help in the time of need – Paul prayed that Timothy would know God’s mercy at the time he needed it most. From Paul’s ensuing exhortation to young Timothy, it is clear that he knew Timothy needed God’s mercy if he was to stay at his post and remain steadfast in the teaching of the pure gospel of Jesus Christ. Friends, think of the urgency with which the psalmist called out to God, over and over … as chesedh is mentioned more than a hundred times in Psalms.

O that you and I would take hold of Paul’s blessing of Timothy and claim it as our own! ‘That we would apprehend both the grace and peace of God, but also be desirous and at the same time eternally grateful for his mercy as well. For without his mercy we perish.

And once again my mind goes to the upraised arms of the faith – filled I have seen at worship services, reaching to God as the Source, the only One who can bestow grace, mercy and peace. In a very real sense, last week at Brooklyn Tabernacle, when I saw single mothers with toddlers in tow, gray-haired women with weathered faces, and youngish men coming in from the hood—all of whom pressed God with upraised arms for grace, mercy and peace, and a true sense of urgency—I must acknowledge that I am lost without the blessing of God upon my life. So are you.

So, I beg you . . . wherever you are, in whatever circumstance you find yourself, reach out, and reach upward for God. For in this life, you and I are in need of his blessing of grace, mercy and peace. Without it, we are lost. May God bless you, my dear ones across the world far and wide … and God, bless me!

Christine

PastorWoman.com

*– Greek and Hebrew from William Barclay, The New Daily Study Bible: The Letters to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon