I love the simple yet profound description John gives of Jesus in the first chapter of his gospel. He says a number of things such as...
* The Word (Jesus) was in the beginning of all things...
* The Word (Jesus) was with God and even was God...
* All things were created through Him...
* Life was in Him and it was the light of men...
My favorite part is in verse 14 of chapter 1 where John says,...
"The Word (Jesus) became flesh and took up residence among us. We observed His glory, the glory as the One and Only Son from the Father..."
And then my very favorite descriptor of John for Jesus...
"...(He was)...full of grace and truth."
Sometimes I'm full of grace (on good days). Sometimes I'm full of truth (on days that I'm feeling a bit cranky). Most days, I have a little dab of both but certainly not full of either which is surprising because I am a clay vessel-container of the Spirit of God who, in Himself, is full of grace and truth and in-dwelling my heart and life!
So perhaps deep within me is the potential and the promise of being full of grace and truth. However, the carnal man, the outer shell, the earthly pull, somehow crusts over the inner grace and truth that yearns to escape and be evident to the world. My crusty self, the part that needs to die to Christ daily, tends to restrict His grace and truth working in me, longing to pour out to those in need around me.
When I become judgmental and Pharisaic, the "truth" and legalistic part comes out and I am quick to judge, slow to understand and hasty to criticize. When I become compassionate to the point of relativism, I excuse my own and other people's actions because of "grace" and tend to ignore the balance of the truth of God's Word and His absolute yet loving laws.
If I try to balance - say 50% grace and 50% truth, I find myself miss applying one or the other to situations that really require the opposite and thus falling short of Christ's example and expectations.
Full of grace and full of truth. It really is an amazing concept. I am so glad that I serve a Savior who was fully both. I also long for the day to be totally conformed to His image so that I can be as well.
* The Word (Jesus) was in the beginning of all things...
* The Word (Jesus) was with God and even was God...
* All things were created through Him...
* Life was in Him and it was the light of men...
My favorite part is in verse 14 of chapter 1 where John says,...
"The Word (Jesus) became flesh and took up residence among us. We observed His glory, the glory as the One and Only Son from the Father..."
And then my very favorite descriptor of John for Jesus...
"...(He was)...full of grace and truth."
Sometimes I'm full of grace (on good days). Sometimes I'm full of truth (on days that I'm feeling a bit cranky). Most days, I have a little dab of both but certainly not full of either which is surprising because I am a clay vessel-container of the Spirit of God who, in Himself, is full of grace and truth and in-dwelling my heart and life!
So perhaps deep within me is the potential and the promise of being full of grace and truth. However, the carnal man, the outer shell, the earthly pull, somehow crusts over the inner grace and truth that yearns to escape and be evident to the world. My crusty self, the part that needs to die to Christ daily, tends to restrict His grace and truth working in me, longing to pour out to those in need around me.
When I become judgmental and Pharisaic, the "truth" and legalistic part comes out and I am quick to judge, slow to understand and hasty to criticize. When I become compassionate to the point of relativism, I excuse my own and other people's actions because of "grace" and tend to ignore the balance of the truth of God's Word and His absolute yet loving laws.
If I try to balance - say 50% grace and 50% truth, I find myself miss applying one or the other to situations that really require the opposite and thus falling short of Christ's example and expectations.
Full of grace and full of truth. It really is an amazing concept. I am so glad that I serve a Savior who was fully both. I also long for the day to be totally conformed to His image so that I can be as well.
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