“The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen” (Rev.22:21)
Lord Jesus, will Punxsutawney Phil get it right this year, Groundhog Day 2024? Will we have six more weeks of winter, or an early spring? Whatever he and the Weather Channel predict, the “spring” we crave the most is your return, Jesus—the eternal end of “winter,” and the perfect climate we’ll enjoy forever in the new heaven and new earth.
Until then, the one thing we can count on every year 24/7, irrespective of every meteorological possibility, is your grace. Whether we’re experiencing life as a gentle zephyr or roaring typhoon, freezing rain or “hellish” humidity, the bluest of skies or a total eclipse—your grace is the most certain, inexhaustible, necessary, and glorious reality we will ever experience. That’s true because grace isn’t a “something” but a “someone.” Jesus, you are the personification of God’s grace—the incarnation and essence of perfect love, sacrificial redemption, total restoration. When you were born, “grace appeared” (Tit.2:11). To be saved by grace is to be saved by you, Jesus (2 Cor.8:9).
The law came through Moses, but “grace and truth” came through you; and from your fullness, we continue to receive “grace upon grace” (Jn.1:16-17). You “giveth more grace” (James 4:11) because we “needeth” more grace”—more of you, Jesus.
To receive “sufficient grace” (2Cor.12:9) is to get all of you we need in any and every situation—your storm-calming presence (Mk.4:35-41), you as the complete armor of God (Eph.6:10-18), you as our very life and guarantee of glory (Col.3:1-4). Thank you, Jesus. Thank you. How fitting that the very last verse of the Bible is “the grace of the Lord Jesus be with all” (Rev.22:21). Until you return and usher in the “eternal-Spring,” you are all we truly need. Hallelujah! So Very Amen.