The Impossible Combination
"From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known."
John 1:15-18 (NIV)
Rules, law, structure, order, systems; all are important yet also are nothing more than an outworking of God's Love. John teaches us that God came to earth to rescue us from the misery we bring on ourselves. It's a rescue mission. We don't deserve it. That's Grace, unmerited favor. Why law and order, the Old Testament and all its rules? They are among the structures of love which provide, protect and set boundaries which keep us safe from ourselves and others.
Jesus "fleshes" out that Love in, through, and behind the law of Moses.
Is it not true in your own family that truth spoken without grace and love is harshness and grace offered without truth turns into "mush"? Both are needed. But note this. Truth (that of which law is a poor reflection) does not exist except as that which both emanates from Grace and informs it.
Prayer
"Lord, I know when I'm hearing from you when I "hear" both truth and Love, when I see both Grace and the reality of Who You are over and against who I am. Help me to learn to speak truth accurately and gracefully and to offer grace truthfully. Amen."
Another wise message from Pastor Jeff. Truth and grace an impossible combination.
ReplyDeleteI was struck by the Jn 1:18 "No one has ever seen God." If no one has seen God how do we come to know him? In the Old Testament God revealed himself through the law and his covenant with Abraham and his descendants. In the New Testament he revealed himself through his son Jesus Christ, the word made flesh.
So how do we come to know God the Father? Through an image we create based on a few passages in Genesis and Romans 1? Or through following the life, death and resurrection of Jesus? I wonder if our efforts to create an image of God Father may lead us away from the truth and grace revealed in Jesus and toward idolatry.
Exodus 20:4-5 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God.
Can marriage, family, faith or freedom become idols that we bow down and worship?