“The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, Who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14
I have noticed that there seem to be two major types of churches today. One type specializes in making people feel condemned. You can count on these churches to always tell you what they are against, and they rarely tell you what they are for. They don’t just step on toes; they stomp on feet! The other type of church will do anything to make people feel comfortable. They believe the 11th Commandment is: “Thou shalt not offend anyone.” The number one goal is to make sure everyone feels good when they leave. They rarely talk about sin…and if they do, they do it quickly and usually don’t even call it sin. There is something wrong with a church that offends everyone. But there is also something wrong with a church that offends no one. Jesus never offended everybody, but He always offended somebody.
John 1:14 tells us that Jesus, God’s one and only Son, came from the Father full of grace and truth. This perfect balance of grace and truth is just one of the many things that made Jesus unique from other people. This balance is also what drew people to Jesus…people from all walks of life wanted to meet Jesus. They came from all over to see Him and hear Him teach. Many even gave their lives to Him.
This grace and truth balance came naturally to Jesus. We, on the other hand, have a much harder time achieving this Christ-like balance. Most of us tend to lean to one side or the other. Jesus never showed grace at the expense of the truth, and He never told the truth at the expense of showing grace. Instead, He struck a perfect balance between the two. He was always, always graciously truthful.
Oh, to be like Jesus in this balance! If only we could walk perfectly in truth and grace. What a difference we would make in this world. While we will never do it perfectly, such balance is possible with the help of God’s Spirit living in us. Both grace and truth are needed in our world today. May we be a people who walk as Jesus walked…full of grace and truth…through the power of His Spirit.
Dear God, please help me to walk in the balance of grace and truth as I strive to share Your story with those around me. May my attitudes, actions, and words always be grounded in Your truth, and seasoned with Your grace. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Topics: Truth
