Grace and 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)

Many times I have read the poems or essays, "If Jesus Had Not Come." Much of the world's great art, music, and literature would not have been produced. Higher education would not have had its auspicious start. Fewer hospitals, nursing homes, and programs for the needy would exist. There might be mosques and temples, but there would be no Christian churches. Without the beneficial Gospel teachings of love and forgiveness, how far down might society sink?

But I have been thinking, what if Jesus had come only as the bearer of truth, without the accompanying grace? "God is love—sorry about your being on the outside." Suppose that the whole message of the New Testament was that of accusation? "You have transgressed the law of God, and He is really, really mad!"

How awful that would be! Enmeshed in our own selfishness and sin, truth alone would leave us hopeless. Jesus brought grace as well! He explained that indeed God is love, but He extends it to all, regardless of whether they are willing to receive it. "Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God." (John 1:12) Grace opened the way for relationship with the Heavenly Father.

Jesus came to rescue us from futile attempts to satisfy an angry God. He explained things so simply for us: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind . . . Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." Grace made the way for us to live at peace.

What a gift—grace and truth embodied in the Lord Jesus who came to show it to us! "We have seen his glory . . . grace and truth."

MaryMartha

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Art from http://www.sxc.hu/