The Bible says that Jesus is full of grace and truth (Jn.
1:14). I have found the grace and truth
balance to be of utmost importance in all of my ministry and relational
interactions. Grace is foundational for
someone to know they are loved and accepted, no matter what. And truth is essential for living according
to God’s will.
Truth is the guardrail at the top of the cliff, and grace is
the paramedic down below should we fall.
Jesus embodied grace and truth in the most perfect way. His handling of the woman caught in adultery
provides the model. He said to her,
“Neither do I condemn you” (GRACE) … “go and sin no more” (TRUTH). He did not condone her adultery, but He also
did not reject her as a sinner. He did
exactly what Eph. 4:15 tells us: “Speak
the truth in love.” Oh that I might
display truth and grace in all my relationships.
Now sometimes, like Jesus, we need to lean more toward
truth, as He did with the hard-hearted, hypocritical Pharisees. While other times He leaned toward grace, as with
repentant sinners.
The story of the Prodigal sons (yes intentional plural here)
reveals both truth and grace. The
younger son was repentant and thus received grace. The old brother was self righteous and unable
to receive His brother and thus got more convicting truth from his father.
What determines whether God leans toward us with more truth
or grace is our HEART. The heart that is
repentant to sin and responsive to truth gets grace! The heart that is prideful and
self-sufficient might need a good dose of convicting truth. In the same way, we should seek to minister
to others based on their heart. But the
bottom line with all of this is that Jesus wants to come with both grace and
truth, and therefore, we should bring both to bear in our relationships.
My final encouragement is to use the “Oreo” cookie as your
model. The two outside parts represent
grace and the inside filling is truth.
Start with grace by loving and accepting all people, regardless of their
lifestyle or sin. Once you take this
part off, then you are ready to minister the truth, even if it involves
confronting them about sin in their life.
If they receive the truth, which will set them free according to Jn.
8:32, then more grace comes because repentance of sin brings about the
unleashing of God’s amazing grace!
Grace and truth: what
a divine marriage!
