Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James,

To those who have been called, who are loved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ:

 Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.

Jude 1, 2

What is Jude’s prayer?  That those to whom he is writing, believers in the Gospel, will enjoy three blessings of God.

First, “mercy.”  All of us who know Jesus as Savior realize that we are saved because God is merciful.  We come to Him to plead mercy.  We have nothing to bring but our plea for mercy.  That never changes, no matter how long we walk in God’s salvation.  We do not earn mercy; we receive it as a precious gift.

Second, “peace.”   This, too is a precious gift of God.  He himself is our peace!  We are at peace when we know we are safe in Him.

Third, “love.”  The kind of love Jude is talking about is not ordinary human love that all cultures know.  It is the love of our Savior and Lord, not something we earn or deserve.  It is agape love that comes from Jesus Christ.

Jude is about to urge the readers to stand firm in the faith because heresy threatens. For this they will need fortitude, determination, clear minds and the rest.  But most of all they need to be clothed in God’s mercy, peace and love.  If we lose these virtues trying to defend the Gospel, we need to stop, recover our stance in the Lord Jesus and proceed from there.