Glory, Grace & Truth

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14

I have been thinking about this verse since before Christmas.  That last phrase keeps running through my mind. (probably because there is so much room to roam there) The description of Jesus with obvious glory and full of grace and truth. The glory is easy to understand - He is GOD after all.  But full of grace AND truth?  Aren't those two often seen as opposites?  Truth is absolute, grace is more subjective. One focuses on the law and the other on love.

Jesus said Himself that He did not come to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it.(Mat. 5:17)  so being full of truth fits. Jesus represented the absolute truth of God's Law. But He also lived His life expressing the mercy and love that is grace. (think, eating with tax collectors and sinners, associating with prostitutes and pagans) He was full of both grace and truth, which is exactly what man needed.

Sometimes people lob bombs at each other - "You're liberal!" or "You're legalistic!" In the Church we fight over how to deal with people which is, in general, a very messy business indeed. But add sin into the mix along with the dispute of whether it should be met with truth or grace and it can get downright gory!

So it is VERY good news that Jesus was full of both grace and truth! It's a balance man and the Church in particular has struggled with all through history. Understanding how to LIVE that balance is what we really need. Just talking about the balance of grace and truth, love and law, hasn’t really worked for us. Is it any wonder that God sent Jesus to SHOW us how it looks? To show us how HE (God) looks?

The answer is, and has always been, less about our religion and more about our relationship with our God. Getting to know Him and a desire to become more like Him is what we need to focus on. The relationship begins (salvation in Jesus) and ends (Heaven!) the same for us all but the journey will look different for each individual - that's what makes it really fun!

So this year I will be exploring with my church family the glory, grace and truth of our God that we find in scripture in an effort to get to know Him better so we can become more like Him in our relationships with one another.  This should be great!