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 Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." - John 1:14

We humans aren’t especially good at holding tensions. I recall a lecturer I had at Bible College who introduced me to the concept of “two-stakes” issues in theology and life. He used this terminology to describe those matters that aren’t as simple as ‘this or that’. When thinking of such matters, we must “drive two stakes into the ground and not let go of either one.”

Life is easier if we camp out on either end of any spectrum of thought or belief. We value clarity, certainty, and stability – all of which are difficult to attain and maintain if we attempt to hold onto two seemingly different ideas or ideals. But of course, as we all eventually find out, life isn’t quite that simple.

As a minister, I remember reading that when we preach, we can tend to be either too truth-focused, or too grace-focused. We either prefer to afflict the comfortable, or comfort the afflicted. But I’ll never forget the day God reminded me clearly that I cannot settle for that – I must grapple with the tension. I was walking across the hospital carpark when, out of nowhere, I heard God say clearly to my spirit, “Nigel, I’ve called you to be a minister of truth AND grace.” It hit me right between the eyes. I had been in the “afflict the comfortable” camp too strongly and for too long. I needed that correction.

But of course, it isn’t really a tension at all, as though the two were somehow at odds with each other. Truth and grace aren’t opposites, they’re two sides of the same coin – or more to the point, two aspects of the same man, Jesus. He is not 50% truth and 50% grace – He is 100% of both. Sometimes in the church we’re guilty of being too gracious at the expense of truth, or two truthful at the expense of grace. But as we follow Christ, we must emulate Him. His truth is always 100% gracious, and His grace is always 100% truthful! May it be so in us – and in the churches we call home.

- Ps. Nigel