Full of 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

People say that Jesus was all loving and never condemned anyone.

Jesus did indeed condemn some people for their sin. In Matthew 23 He called the religious leaders "hypocrites". He told them that they were "blind fools," children of hell, full of hypocrisy and sin. He rebuked them by saying, "You serpents, you generation of vipers, how shall you escape the damnation of hell?" (v. 33). He then warned that He would say to sinners, "Depart from Me, you cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels" (Matthew 25:41). He showed just how sinful sin truly is. He said, "Don't think that just because you have been faithful to your spouse that you haven't committed adultery, looking with lust is adultery too."

Jesus was also full of Grace. Take for example the woman guilty of adultery. Not only was she guilty, she was caught in the act! The Bible however, tells us nothing about this woman's heart concerning her sin. We do not even know if she was sorry for what she did. For all we know, she could have been thinking to herself, "This is ridiculous! I'm no more guilty than these religious phonies. This is a joke." Yet, Jesus didn't even bother to make sure she was truly repentant. He simply said, "So, who has condemned you? No one? Then neither do I. You are free to go, and don't do that again." Just like that, she was free to go, pardoned, and with no questions asked. At that moment, our Lord was full of Grace.

Jesus was not a hell fire preacher half of time, then a feel good preacher the other half. John tells us that He was full of Grace and Truth 100% of time. How do we walk the balance between making sure we are living right before the Lord, and resting in the fact that God approves of us just as we are solely based on the sacrifice of Jesus whether we are living right or not? We don't. We look to the cross. In the cross we see the fullness of truth; the truth that we are exceedingly sinful without hope. In the cross we see the fullness of grace; the grace that has made us perfectly righteous in God's eyes without flaw or fault.

Truth without grace would be legalism, and grace without truth would be chaos. We must have the fullness of both in our lives. That is your hope for today. Now go restore hope to others.

Are You Standing Under an Eclipse?

Most of us know what happens during a solar eclipse. The moon passes between the sun and the earth blotting out the suns light. All that is left is a black disk in the sky with a bright ring around it depending on where you are during the event. I remember the first time I saw one, it was amazing. I quickly understood why an eclipse rattled civilizations centuries ago.

For us, an eclipse is fascinating but not a big deal because we know how it works. Could you imagine what an eclipse would be like if you had no idea what it was or how it happened? Think about it. Everyday you feel the warmth of the sun, you see its light brighten everything giving life to the world around you. Then suddenly out of the middle of nowhere, this dark, thing covers up the sun. Not only are you afraid, your also confused. It was bright outside, now it's dark... but it's only two o'clock in the afternoon!

Maybe that's what life is like for you. Things were going great, everything was the way it was supposed to be and everyone you wanted in your life was there. Then something happened and blotted out the sunshine in you life. Now your standing confused and afraid in the dark and it's only two o'clock in the afternoon.

Notice that during an eclipse, the moon only covers up the sun, but the sun is still there. Don't be afraid. God wants you to know that even though things are kind of dark right now, He is getting ready to move this thing out of the way so the "Sonshine" can light up your life again. Have faith and trust in Jesus the Son. He will bring light to your life again.