Grace and Truth
This morning I begin my study through the Gospel of John. In doing so John 1:14 surfaces, "We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." Being that people in my church are seeking to become more like Jesus, this is a conversation that comes up quite often:
"How can we find a balance between grace and truth?"
But this morning as I read, I wondered if we have been asking the right question. "Balance?" This gives the impression that grace and truth are at odds, almost like a tug of war . . . You go too far with grace you lose truth, you go too far with truth you lose grace. This is how I have always seen it, but I wonder if I have always seen it wrong.
As I read John 1:14 it seems like Jesus embodied the fullness of Grace, and the fullness of truth. Not that he was trying to keep them in balance, but that he took both of them to the highest point. Think about it. Can you think of a person who was more gracious than Jesus, or a person who embodied truth more than Jesus?
It makes we wonder if we need to change the one question from "How can we balance grace and truth?" into two questions, "How can we extend grace to the fullest possible scenario?" and after we answer that question ask, "How can we embody truth in the fullest way possible without taking grace back?" If we can find answers in a way that grace and truth aren't competing but complementing, maybe we will be on to something. Maybe we will take a huge step in becoming more like Jesus.
Grace has to be shocking. It always was in Jesus ministry. And the fullness of truth when we deeply understand it is that we need grace.
"How can we find a balance between grace and truth?"
But this morning as I read, I wondered if we have been asking the right question. "Balance?" This gives the impression that grace and truth are at odds, almost like a tug of war . . . You go too far with grace you lose truth, you go too far with truth you lose grace. This is how I have always seen it, but I wonder if I have always seen it wrong.
As I read John 1:14 it seems like Jesus embodied the fullness of Grace, and the fullness of truth. Not that he was trying to keep them in balance, but that he took both of them to the highest point. Think about it. Can you think of a person who was more gracious than Jesus, or a person who embodied truth more than Jesus?
It makes we wonder if we need to change the one question from "How can we balance grace and truth?" into two questions, "How can we extend grace to the fullest possible scenario?" and after we answer that question ask, "How can we embody truth in the fullest way possible without taking grace back?" If we can find answers in a way that grace and truth aren't competing but complementing, maybe we will be on to something. Maybe we will take a huge step in becoming more like Jesus.
Grace has to be shocking. It always was in Jesus ministry. And the fullness of truth when we deeply understand it is that we need grace.
posted by Jon Knapp at
8:11 AM
3 Comments:
Good observation. The church seems to have gotten very adept at puting ideas and people at odds with each other. I wonder if part of this grace and truth tension has come from mentally replacing the word truth with the phrase "right system of beliefs?"
Thoughtful - I think I might be stealing from one of your sermons here, but along similar lines, what if truth isn't actually truth without grace?
Reading that was one of the great Aha! moments of my life. One of those moments where you say, "no duh! How could I have ever read it any other way?!"
I can't describe the joy that came to my heart in read your thoughts. Wow! I think this will be hard to live out. It can be easy to be concerned with "the truth" (take Justin's definition if you will) at the expense of grace.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home