As John describes Jesus in the first chapter of his gospel
book (v.14), he says, “Now the Word became flesh and took up residence among us.
We saw his glory- the glory of the one and only, full of grace and truth…” Jesus often gets a bad rap; he’s too
soft, meek, and mild. He’s too harsh, expects too much, and lacks compassion.
No one seems to be satisfied. However, as we look at Christ’s example in how he
delivered truth, it was never without grace. He carries grace and truth,
equally and entirely, for all of us. When approached by the Pharisees with the
woman caught in the act of adultery, her truth spread out in front of the whole
town to see, Jesus offered her no condemnation. Jesus engaged with the
Samaritan woman at the well. The fact that he even talked to her was an amazing
gesture, then he offered her water that would quench her eternal thirst. He asked
about her live-in boyfriend, revealing a hard truth in her life, yet she acknowledged
the truth and embraced the gift that’d been offered. I think of Zaccheus and
the amount of grace that brought a man like the Christ into a tax collector’s
home. How Jesus must have challenged and convicted him with stinging truth, yet
Zaccheus was willing to repent and right his many wrongs.
Truth telling without grace is accusatory. It’s a fault-finding,
wound-gouging gesture that will almost always lead to conflict and little
reconciliation. Truth with grace; it
stings, but it leads to healing, growth and deeper relationships. “Truth
speaking” is such a challenging thing, especially within the Christian
community. The Bible is quite clear about acknowledging wrong doing within the church
body. We are to bring light where dark things dwell. We are to help each other know when we have hurt one another, or even ourselves. We, the Church, often fail at offering compassion
with those heart-wrenching revelations. Verse seventeen of the same chapter tells us that grace
and truth come through Jesus. Those
of us who know Christ have the same ability to offer our fellow believers truth
accompanied by grace. How often we forget. We offer truth with judgment and
satisfaction. We revel in the fact that our sin is somehow “less” than their
sin. We can do better. We have to be wholly moved to feel for a person who may have wronged us. Only Jesus can move us in such a way.
Too much grace can be a bad thing as well. Misguided grace
can disguise itself as ignorance of sin. It can masquerade as permission
granting. Grace without truth is a Hello Kitty Band-Aid on a compound fracture.
It’s acceptance without the expectation of change. Jesus expects change. He
told the prostitute to sin no more. He forgave Peter’s denials, but he expected
him to be the rock of the Church.
There’s a flip side to all of this. We Christians are also poor
truth receivers. I think of the times
that I offer Avery correction; it often leads to frustrated tears. She doesn’t
cry because I’m mean, she cries because it stings to be told she can do better.
It stings to know it’s true. When someone speaks a truth about us to us, it’s
upsetting. It is painful because we agree; we’ve known this truth all along, we’ve
just hoped no one else noticed. As adults, we often shift blame to the accuser.
We don’t receive our truth with any grace for the truth revealer. Let me tell
you something, if someone has taken the time to humbly confront you with a
difficult revelation, they have been praying about it for a LONG time. They
didn’t approach you flippantly. They have been losing sleep and asking God to
have someone else do it. I guarantee it. I truly believe that if we Christians
heard our own truths through gracious ears and hearts, we would offer truth more
often. The Church would be more intimate and mature. Our relationships would show
the world a view of Christ they haven’t seen in some time.
If truth is the exposure of wrong doing, then grace is the genuine offer
of forgiveness. They are equal
and full in Jesus. Can we
drench our truths with grace and our graces with truth? It’s time we show the
world the kind of love His people can offer one another.
Where in your life do you need to offer more grace with
your truth? For me, it’s with my kids. I need to provide gracious
correction. Maybe it’s the opposite for you! Maybe you need more truth with
your grace!
Is there someone who offered you wisdom and you treated
them poorly? Maybe you need to apologize or offer them gratitude? I know I
often snap at my mother when she gently offers wisdom. That needs to be
remedied.
