But that you also may know about my circumstances, how I am doing, Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make everything known to you. And I have sent him to you for this very purpose, so that you may know about us, and that he may comfort your hearts. Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with a love incorruptible. (Ephesians 6:21-24)
Life can be discouraging. We live in a society that can chew people up and spit them out. In our high-tech age we have forgotten how to be high-touch. At work people who are eager to climb the corporate ladder are often selfish and cold. We exalt as virtues things which are not virtuous. Attitudes like pride, selfishness, and greed are portrayed as desirable characteristics. All of this can be terribly discouraging.
Someone has described our society as a rat-race. While that may be fine for rats, what about the rest of us? Others have described us as a dog-eat-dog society. In fact, before the Soviet Union dissolved, someone was trying to compare our society to theirs. They said that in a capitalistic society it was dog-eat-dog. But in a communistic society it was precisely the reverse! The point is that in all societies there is a blatant disregard for others. It is truer today than ever before.
What we need is some encouragement. We need people who are encouragers. There certainly are times when I need encouragement. I'm sure that you will admit that there are times when you need encouragement. Indeed, there are probably few times when we do not need encouragement.
As I study the life of the apostle Paul, I am struck with the fact that he was an encourager. Paul could certainly speak in a straightforward and blunt manner. He did not shy away from speaking the truth to someone, even when that truth was harsh and hard to take. But at his heart Paul was very much an encourager of others. At the core of his being, he desired to build people up, not tear them down.
As we come to the closing words of the book of Ephesians, we see Paul doing what we all need to do for one another. We see him wishing the very best that God has to offer on others. Paul expresses his heart-felt desire that the peace, love, faith, and grace of God be fully realized by these Christians in Ephesus.
Paul gives us an example of how we should encourage others. What is it that you desire for others? Do you rejoice when others succeed? Do you truly desire to see God's best be realized in the lives of other people? Let's look at some of the things Paul desired for others.
Peace to the brethren . . . (6:23a)
Paul's first desire is for peace. This is both a Jewish and a Christian benediction. The Jews wished for shalom. Shalom was a sense of well-being or peace. We see this in the benediction of Aaron:
The Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord make His face shine upon you
And be gracious to you;
The Lord turn His face toward you
And give you peace.
---(Numbers 6:24-26)
We all need real peace in our lives. Only God can give us true peace. And God desires to do so. In Jeremiah 29:11 we read, “`For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the Lord, `plans for welfare [literally shalom] and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.'“ This is what God desires for all of us.
Jesus said, in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you.” Jesus gives us a peace that the world cannot match. For the world, peace is simply the absence of strife. For the Christian, peace is the present activity of God. True peace comes from trusting in the Lord.
You can search the world over and still not find peace. I heard of a retired couple, who were alarmed by the threat of nuclear war. Some years ago they began a serious study of all the inhabited parts of this globe. They were trying to find a place which was the least likely to be effected by nuclear war. They both traveled and studied. At last they found The Place. At Christmas they sent cards to their friends in the United States from their new home. It was the Falklan Islands. It was the soon-to-be battleground between Britain and Argentina. You see, you never know where you can find true peace, until you come to Jesus. He alone can provide peace.
We all need peace. Paul wished for peace for all Christians. Is there someone you know who needs peace? Why don't you stop right now and pray for that person to receive real peace.
Peace be to the brethren, and love . . . (6:23a)
Not only do we all need to experience real peace, we all need to experience true love. Several years ago, there was a popular song which began like this: “What the world needs now is love, sweet love.” Although some years have passed, that is still what the world needs now. It is what you and I need. The desire in each of us to be truly loved is probably the greatest desire we have.
In the March 1978 Reader's Digest we find this from a Sunday School teacher:
For St. Patrick's Day, I asked the five-year-olds in my Sunday School class to bring “something green that you love.” The next Sunday they brought the usual green hats, green sweaters and green books. But one boy entered with an especially big grin. Behind him, wearing a green dress came, his four-year-old sister.
Are there those that you love --- red . . . and yellow . . . black . . . and white? I'm sure there are.
But love should not be simply something we wish for someone. We should show our love to that person while we have a chance. We are told over and over in the Scriptures to love one another. We are also told that our love ought not to merely be in word, but also in deed. Real love is something we do.
Sometimes love is costly. At the very least, it is a risk. But love is always like that. No one ever said it better than C.S. Lewis:
To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket --- safe, dark, motionless, airless --- it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable . . . . the only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers of love . . . is Hell.
But we must take the risk to love. We must risk it because we need love. We must risk it because others need love.
It is true that sometimes taking that risk can lead you into trouble. Maybe you heard about the guy who fell in love with an opera singer. He hardly knew her, since his only view of the singer was through binoculars --- from the third balcony. But he was convinced he could live “happily ever after, married to a voice like that.” He scarcely noticed she was considerably older than he. Nor did he care that she walked with a limp. Her mezzo-soprano voice would take them through whatever might come. After a whirlwind romance and a hurry-up ceremony, they were off for their honeymoon together. She began to prepare for their first night together. As he watched, his chin dropped to his chest. She plucked out her glass eye and popped it into a container on the nightstand. She pulled off her wig, ripped off her false eyelashes, yanked out her dentures, unstrapped her artificial leg, and smiled at him as she slipped off her glasses that hid her hearing aid. Stunned and horrified, he gasped, “For goodness sake, woman, sing, sing, SING!”
Generally love is very much worth it. But those who deserve love the least probably need it the most. Let's face it, all of us need to give and receive love. Is there someone you know who needs love today? Why don't we stop right now and pray for that person. Pray that he or she would receive true love. Pray also that you will be able to show true love.
. . . love with faith . . . (6:23b)
We not only need love, we need love with faith. By faith we mean simple trust in God.
When John Paton was translating the Bible for a South Seas Island tribe, he discovered that they had no word for trust or faith. One day a native who had been running hard came into the missionary's house, flopped himself into a large chair and said, “It's good to rest my whole weight on this chair.” “That's it,” said Patton. “I'll translate faith as `resting one's whole weight on God.'“
Don't you feel like that sometimes? Life is tough; people are difficult; you are tired; and you just want to rest your whole weight on God. That is the kind of faith I'm talking about. It is a simple trust that you are in God's hands, and that whatever happens, He is in charge.
Believing that is no easy task sometimes. Often I feel I need more faith. At times I feel like the Roman Centurion who said, “Lord I believe; help thou my unbelief.” We all need faith. We need God to grant us faith. We need to pray for faith for ourselves and for others. And we need to encourage faith in others.
The way we get faith is not to concentrate on faith, but to concentrate on our relationship with Christ. Faith does not spring from logical analysis, but from a relationship with a living God. Someone has said, “For those who believe, no explanation is needed; for those who do not believe, no explanation will be enough.” To know God is to have faith. A little child will trust that his father will catch him if he jumps off the bed. We must trust that God will take care of us no matter what.
Can you think of someone you know who needs faith? Perhaps that someone is you. Take time right now to pray for yourself and for that person God brings to mind.
Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with a love incorruptible. (6:24)
Paul finally wishes grace upon these believers. Someone once defined grace as God's Riches At Christ's Expense. Grace is also defined as God's unmerited favor.
The story is told of a man who appeared at Heaven's gate and was met there by an angel who told him, “It will take 1,000 points to get you in. Tell me about yourself so that I will know how many points to give you.” The man smiled and said, “Well, I've been going to church almost every Sunday all my life.” “Excellent,” the angel said. “that will give you three points. What else?” The man was shocked. “Only three points?” he gasped. “Well, I was a Sunday School superintendent for a while, and I tithed, and I tried to be a good neighbor.” “Very good,” the angel said. “That will give you ten points.” The man gasped again. “At this rate,” he said, “I'll never get in except by the grace of God!” (R. Kent. Hughes)
If the truth were known, all of our good works would add up to less than zero. We need God's grace because we need God.
Someone has offered this penetrating comparison of the difference between revenge, justice, and grace. If someone brutally murders your son and you take things into your own hands, that's revenge. If you're content to allow the law and the courts to arrest and punish the offender, that's justice. But if you pardon the murderer, adopt him, and take him home to live with you as your son, that's grace! That is precisely what God did. Our sin murdered His Son. And He has not only pardoned us, but He has adopted us as His children.
Grace is the goodness of God given freely to all of us. We need grace. Others need grace. Is there someone you know who needs grace? Let's take a moment to pray for that person.
The best way we can be an encouraging person to others is to desire God's best for them. We should not only desire that, but we should pray for one another that God would bless us and build us up. We should carefully consider one another with a view to building up one another in Christ. Life is tough enough without our adding to the discouragement. Purpose now to become an encourager of the brethren.
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