“And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw
His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and
truth.” John 1:14
Full of grace and truth . . . God is fully grace and fully
truth. He is justice
and He is mercy; two sides of one coin.
God is beyond that description.
I see Him now as more like a diamond, with an infinite amount of facets
and carats.
I recently read an article about astronomers finding a huge
diamond in space. “It is 2,500
miles across and weighs 5 million, trillion trillion pounds, which translates
to approximately 10 billion trillion trillion carats, or a one followed by 34
zeros.” The article went on to say
that “the hunt for the crystal core of this white dwarf has been like the
search for the Lost Dutchman’s Mine.
It was thought to exist for decades, but only now has it been located.” (Center
for Astrophysics)
When studying Romans and looking into the election or
choosing by God of those who will be saved my Bible study class as well as their
teacher, (that would be me) are left puzzled. It is beyond our understanding, as it should be. For Paul says in Romans 11:33, “Oh, the
depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable
are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!” The more I study of God’s Word the more I realize I do not
know, and that I will never know all there is to know until I see Jesus face to
face.
As I walk on the treadmill each morning I use that time to
pray. I pray for my children
everyday as I walk and meditate on His Word. Yesterday as I was meditating on the truth found in John 1:14
about Jesus being full of grace and truth my mind flashed to my children. I have learned much about myself and
about my heavenly Father through my children. Becoming a mom gave me such insight into the Father’s love
and His great care He gives His children.
As a mom I have been humbled many times through my inadequacies as a mom
and through the words and behaviors of my own children. As I contemplate the message of the
Gospel, that through Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross that I now stand
declared righteous in my heavenly Father’s eyes, I see also His truth and His
grace.
Jesus came full of truth and grace. Will, my first born, was full of truth,
the law follower. He saw things black or white, no gray! Structure was his middle name! Having things clean and perfect was
always his goal. This goal is unattainable and so he would experience insecurity and fear of failure in
his attempts at perfection. However, when he discovered music he began to
worship and lead others in worship.
His worship of the Perfect One full of truth broke through his own
self-righteousness and he became a humble author who called himself, the adoring
mess.
Sarah, my second and final child, was full of terror at
first and then full of grace. She
would run up to adults and kick them in the shins just because she wanted
to! Then when the first day of
kindergarten came her grace and mercy literally “kicked” in. Her teacher met me at the door after
that first day with, “The other teachers and I were appalled at Sarah’s
behavior at recess today! She kicked a boy while he was on the ground.” Once in the car I asked Sarah what had
happened at recess. She explained,
“That boy was picking on the kids all day and when recess came I saw my chance
to let him have it!” She was
taking up for the weak and defenseless, something she often does now as a lawyer.
As a mom of two, very uniquely different children, I have
learned that when we are given to pride and self-righteousness that worshipping
our Holy Creator God brings us to our knees in humility and when we are a
terror in the eyes of some that God’s grace rises up causing us to reach out to
others in mercy. Encouraging Will
to use his gifts of writing and music turned his messy perfectionism into
adoring the Perfect One through worship. Taking Sarah to Kenya to minister to orphans strengthened
the gift of God in her, allowing her to use her gift of mercy.
God is all truth and all mercy for a reason. We need both in full measure! Rather than accusing God of not being
all good when bad things happen or of not giving the punishment you feel others
deserve, remember that God is all truth and all grace. He is beyond our understanding, beyond
our explanations, beyond our terrors and our messes! Jesus came full of truth and mercy. Trust Him, even when you
don’t understand it all!
Truth and Grace,
Nancy
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