What Paul wished on Timothy

Actually, it was more like confer: Confer is a better word to use when the man who wrote just about 50% of the New Testament wishes something on someone.

Paul conferred grace, mercy and peace upon Timothy.

But Paul's conferral is usually not taken too seriously these days. We live in much too scientific an age to assign any value to such shibboleths as "grace," "mercy" or even "peace."

As if just wishing these polite little nothings upon someone would actually make a difference in his or her life.

And grace, mercy and peace from whom?

"... from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord ..."

Either this is a magnanimous courtesy of delusional proportions to begin a letter.

Or there is something to this ...

The God of the universe authorizing his sanctioned apostle ("Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the command of God ...") to deliver to Timothy three very valuable substances:

Grace. Mercy. Peace.

What if the sanctioned apostle delivered not these three substances, but a million dollars instead? What if the God of the Universe dispatched his servant Paul to confer upon Timothy one million dollars?

Immediately we would think that -- the million dollars -- would be substantive.

And you'd have so many many more people signing up for this Christian religion.

But if a million dollars was what was delivered then, you wouldn't have Christianity now; it would long ago have been all spent.

But God instead dispensed -- and dispenses -- Grace, Mercy, Peace.

So life is still worth living, and we have the right kind of substances to live it with.

Logos2Go

1 Timothy 1.1-2 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope, To Timothy my true son in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.