When you pick up the New Testament epistles, so many begin with a greeting like, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” And that was the common way for the Greeks to send greetings (“Grace”) and for the 
Jews to send greetings (“Peace”). The fact that these blessings are wished upon the recipients FROM GOD is especially meaningful.
Do we wish the same thing for these whom we encounter today? The New Testament indicates that Christians are “an epistle of Christ” (2 Cor. 3:2-3); thus, when others see us, they are “reading” us, as if reading a letter from Christ. Do we–by our words and actions and attitudes–extend a greeting of “grace” (a merciful gift of kindness that is not deserved) and of “peace” (a calm of spirit and a friendliness of relations) when we encounter friends, loved ones and even strangers? Or is our non-verbal greeting just the opposite? We so desperately need God’s grace and peace! How can we afford to not extend the very same to others? We need to ask ourselves each day, “Am I being gracious? Am I being peaceful?”