Grace or Truth
The Scripture for the Sunday sermon at my church this week was John 1:14. The pastor had the congregation stand and read it together.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
It’s overwhelming to realize how much God loves us. To submit to God’s perfect plan, Jesus was born a baby. He was fully divine and yet fully human. He grew and lived a perfect life to save us from our sins. We can be reconciled to the Father through Jesus and …have peace with God. Love so amazing. That’s really what Christmas is all about.
But something that stayed with me after the sermon was the grace and truth part.
I like to think I’m a grace filled Christian. After all, I received my salvation as a free gift. There’s nothing I did to earn it. My good deeds certainly don’t add up to pay my way to heaven. But I also need to be a truth Christian and stand up for what is right and true according to the Bible. If you asked a variety of my friends which one I am, you might get different answers.
To my Christian friends, I may seem to be a grace filled Christian. But to my non Christian friends, I may seem to be a truth filled Christian. It depends on your perspective.
As I think of the example Jesus gave us, He was both grace and truth. He ate with tax collectors and had conversations with women and prostitutes. After all, He came to save the sinners. But He also shared truth with them.
In John 8, the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees brought a woman to Jesus who was caught in the act of adultery. They challenged Jesus so they could bring a charge against her. But Jesus began to write on the ground with his finger and at the end of verse 7 says, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” Slowly each one left. In verse 10-11 “Jesus stood up and said to her,“Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”
Notice grace and truth at work here. Jesus provided the woman with grace. The Law said she deserved to be stoned. But the men condemning her were not perfect. They had sin in their lives. Though Jesus didn’t condemn the woman, He told her to sin no more. He wasn’t winking at sin and letting her get away with it. He forgave her but told her not to sin; to not commit adultery. Grace and truth at work.
I want to be full of grace and truth. To love others with the love of Christ and yet stand for what’s right. To see the world with His eyes of love is something I desire.
I love the Scripture in 2 Corinthians 2:14 about spreading the fragrance of the knowledge of God.
How about you? Are you more grace filled or truth filled? Or are you a balance of both?
Blessings and love,
I hope I am both… I the truth and that keeps me going. It encourages me to forgive, to persevere and to follow His ways. His grace makes me so thankful…so thankful to be alive and to be forgiven of my own shortcomings. God is so good, Debbie, isn’t He? I pray that others will see both truth and grace in me…
I hope that I apply truth and grace equally to the ones around me. And hopefully I can share the truth about Jesus with grace so that others will turn to Him.