2 Thessalonians 1:2 NIV
Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Perhaps you will think this is strange, but when I think of the Peace and Grace of God, I often think of Dobby. Yes, the house elf from Harry Potter. While he is owned by evil (in this case the Malfoy family,) when he perceives that he has been “bad,” he viciously and brutally beats himself. He repeats over and over, “Dobby must be punished.” With his freedom, this self-harming behavior ends. How often do we brutally and repeatedly punish ourselves for mistakes, forgetting the freedom provided by Our Lord Jesus? As children of God, instead of self-depreciation, we are free to lay our sins, mistakes, trials at the feet of the Lord and be washed with His Peace and Grace.
![Psalm 103:2-5 Good News Translation 2 Praise the Lord, my soul, and do not forget how kind he is. 3 He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. 4 He keeps me from the grave and blesses me with love and mercy. 5 He fills my life[a] with good things, so that I stay young and strong like an eagle. a bald eagle is perched in the dead top of a tall pine tree against a blue sky surrounded by the green of other trees](https://i0.wp.com/momentzwithmary.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/TextOnPhotos2_5_2024_12_53_21_PMreal.jpg?fit=473%2C630&ssl=1)
