"FULL of GRACE and TRUTH"

Scripture: John 1:14
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.  We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, FULL of GRACE and TRUTH.

Observations:
In yesterday's post, I looked at this scripture as it teaches us that Jesus was God in the flesh.  However, after that I listened to an Andy Stanley message online and realized that I missed a hugely important point on this verse.  It is an essential theological concept in understanding who Jesus is and one that I've struggled to understand in the past.  I would encourage you to listen to the entire message yourself because the Lord gave Andy Stanley such amazing insight in this, but I'm going to attempt to summarize it here as well.

At times, I must admit I have looked at Jesus' words or actions and thought, "Really?  That seems so inconsistent with who I thought you were."  We watch his interactions with people and sometimes they are so forgiving while other times they seem to hold people accountable for their sin.

• Sometimes what Jesus requires seems easy (for example, Jesus offering heaven to the criminal on the cross who made a death bed confession in Luke 23:43), while other times it seems so hard (like when the rich young ruler is asked to give up everything to follow Jesus in Mark 10: 21).  
• One moment he seems to be pointing to our sin (for example, in John 4:17-18 he tells the woman at the well all about her multiple husbands and living with a man she's not married to) but the next moment he seems to forgive that same sin in others (like in John 8:11 when he does not condemn the woman caught in adultery.)

Application:

I've looked at his behavior and tried to reconcile those two things.  I've tried to "clean up" who Jesus is by picturing him as a BALANCE of truth and grace.  But in this verse, John says, "No, that's not quite right… I've witnessed who he is… I've seen his glory in person… and he wasn't just a balance of those two things.  Jesus was FULL of GRACE and TRUTH."

He's not 50/50 grace and truth.  Jesus is simultaneously 100% GRACE and 100% TRUTH.  And this is a reflection, a personification, of who God is.  Jesus points to our sin and holds us accountable (truth) but makes a way for us to be forgiven and reconciled to God (grace.)  Romans 10:9 says, "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."  It is that easy after all-- confess the truth of our brokenness, accept his grace.  

Still Jesus was complex-- an equation that doesn't add up according to our math.  And if we try to simplify him to one that we can conceptualize, we miss out on that one-of-a-kind glory that John got to see.  Part of his splendor is that he can be both full to the brim of truth and full to the brim of grace.  Behold his glory!

Prayer:

Dear Lord, you are so full of glory and GRACE and TRUTH.  These are all little words with HUGE meanings that I can hardly comprehend.  But Lord you are wholly both.  Help me to quit trying to wrestle who you are into one category or the other.  But instead help me to see a clearer picture of a savior who points to my sin but then forgives it.  God help me to be more like Jesus-- sharing both his truth and grace in full measure.  In his name I pray!  Amen!

Confident in this…

Miranda