John 1:14 tells us that Jesus is the fullness of grace and truth. Don’t miss this: Jesus is the “fullness of grace andtruth.” Both of them. We, on the other hand, tend to pick one or the other when a combination is best. Too much of one or the other will likely not have the impact we want it to (loving like Jesus). If all you do is beat someone over the head with truth, chances are they won’t want to spend much time with you. Standing in truth without grace often leaves us judgmental and unforgiving, pushing people away. Grace without truth has us leading with compassion, but we can be blinded to truth and its consequences.
The parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32) is a great example of grace and truth; the older brother responds out of truth while the father’s response is pure grace.
Grace and truth are meant to be balanced and Jesus did this perfectly. The Bible tells us that unlike the Pharisees, Jesus spent time with many people known to be sinners. But just as important, the Bible also shows us that sinners wanted to spend time with Jesus. Think about that. Do the people in your life who you may not agree with want to spend time with you?
We are called daily to emulate Jesus. So let’s ask ourselves, are we living in truth and grace like Jesus did? Now more than ever, the world needs to see us living and responding with both. - Miss Martha