If anyone actually reads these, I apologize for my lack of writing recently. Blogging has simply dropped on the priority list. Beginning Monday, I will update a daily guide for meditation on the book of Philippians for Terra Nova. We will all explore this book together for a week or two for the purpose of "renewing our minds" with the energizing impact of Scripture. We are currently working through John Ortberg's new book "The ME I Want To Be." All of our Life Groups are doing the small group curriculum and it has been a really study. For more go to www.terranovacc.com and click on the podcast button.
Now, a few random thoughts on John 1:17.
John writes that Moses brought the Law but Jesus brought GRACE & TRUTH. The comparison of Moses and Jesus and Law and grace & truth is very fascinating. The image that came to my mind as I thought about this passage was the Yen/Yang symbol.
The symbol represents wholeness of life - the tension that keeps balance in the universe. The concept has been used to represent many opposing forces that bring balance. Jim Collins uses it to represent how a great organization balances preserving the core with stimulating growth. I wonder if we couldn't hijack the symbol and use it to show the tension between these two aspects of God that bring balance and wholeness.
Grace: receiving what you do not deserve. Demonstration of undeserved love and acceptance.
Truth: absolute without compromise. Foundational. Rock solid.
Jesus brings in His incarnation the completion of both of these concepts. He is grace - giving what we do not deserve. He is truth - absolute, complete, no falsehood, all that is right.
Most of my life seems to lean to one of these concepts or the other, but rarely do I find myself completely immersed in both simultaneously. I'm either full of grace (and feeling like I'm compromising on Truth by giving in a little here and there) or I'm full of truth (unbending, uncompromising, and declaring what is right and wrong). It is rare that I bring to a situation (as Jesus did and still does) BOTH grace and truth.
Maybe if we, as members of the Church, began to consider how we might be more like Christ in this way, we might be more of a positive influence on the world today.
Grace & Truth...tension? Balance? Completion? Christ.
Under the Mercy,
Jason
1 comment:
I often feel the same tension in my life. I'm learning more about showing grace but sometimes truth falls to the wayside. I wonder sometimes when the appropriate time for truth is. Instead of barreling through with truth can I show truth with grace?
I think sometimes it can be a fine line. When God disciplines is it because of grace? How do I know when He's disciplining me? All very interesting.
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