The Bible presents us with an interesting and difficult
assignment: finding a way to perfectly balance grace and truth so that
neither of them tips the scales. While
each of us as humans has a distinct personality and God-given bent that contributes to
us tending to lean one way or the other, our perfect example – Jesus Christ –
was described by his disciple John as being “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Living as a human being here on earth, Jesus
was able to get the balance just right – being 100% truth and 100% grace at the
same time.
It doesn’t seem to work that way for us. Maybe you don’t think about this as much as I
do; but, as one whose natural bent is to lean heavily on truth, I think about
it a lot. How can I always uphold truth
(in a world that consistently modifies and redefines truth to fit the current
society and culture) without slighting grace in the process? Beth Moore has said that “we can grace ourselves right out of
obedience” (Children of the Day, 2014). I know people who do that, and I don’t want
to be one of them.
But I also know people who beat others over the head with
truth and leave grace completely out of the picture, and I don’t want to be one
of those people either. For me, trying
to find the balance is a daily
process. As American Christians facing
current-day social issues like abortion, same-sex marriage, gay clergy, immoral
church leaders, addictions, etc., it is easy to believe that the lines between
grace and truth have become blurred. It
is no longer easy or straightforward to determine how to balance the two in the way God intends for us to. Maybe it never was – and that’s why Jesus
stood out as one who got it right. He
must have looked different than everyone else.
I want to look different, too. Not only do I want to look different than
those who don’t know Christ, but I also want to look different than those in
the church who err on either the side of truth or grace. I want to somehow stand firm for truth but do it in a grace-filled way. This is what God has been teaching me. Truth cannot suffer in order to extend grace;
and grace cannot suffer in order to uphold truth. Every situation will require much prayer and
seeking “what would Jesus do”. This may be a worn-out phrase, but in its
purest form it is the right question to ask.
He is our example, and finding the balance in each situation will only
come when we are seeking him with our whole heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark 12:30). Knowing God better is the truth that will
anchor our reflections of grace as we learn to love our neighbors as ourselves
(Mark 12:31). Working my way each day toward balance . . .
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