Grace and Truth on Balance
by Gary Johnson
Throughout 2025, our focus is to live like Jesus. Each month, we identify and pursue a trait seen in the life of Jesus. Why? We want 1 John 2:6 to become a reality in each of our lives, “If we claim to be Christians, we must live as Jesus lived.” In September, our focus is on how Jesus came to live in this world “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).
Forty-eight years ago, Leah and I became engaged and during the summer of ’77, we would spend time walking to a park near her parents’ home. The park had a playground and when it wasn’t full of children, we would spend time swinging, but also on what was called a teeter-totter (or “seesaw”). Though you rarely see them on new playgrounds, it had individual seats opposite one another on a long board and when one person was up in the air, another was down near the ground, but sometimes people would try and balance their weight, keeping it parallel to the ground.
When it comes to living like Jesus, we struggle with being filled with both grace and truth. Like being on a seesaw, we teeter towards grace or totter towards truth. If we tend to anchor ourselves in Scripture with a legalistic mindset, we become less like Jesus (and more like Pharisees). If we tend to show grace without any expectation of holiness, we become less like Jesus.
Always remember:
Truth without grace is mean.
Grace without truth is meaningless.
In John 8:1-11, Jesus was confronted by a mob of Pharisees who brought to Jesus a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. The Pharisees tried to trap Jesus with a question, asking Him if He agreed with the law of Moses to stone the woman. Masterfully, Jesus said that the person without sin in his life should be the first to throw a stone at her. With that comment, the men all turned away and left. Jesus was “full of grace and truth” in the way He treated this woman. Jesus asked her if anyone condemned her, to which she replied that no one had done so. They had all left! Jesus then replied with a two-fold comment full of grace and truth: “Neither do I condemn you but go and leave your life of sin.” He showed her great grace in that He did not condemn her, but He held her to the truth when He told her to stop sinning.
Jesus showed her compassion without compromise. He did not fail to love her, nor did He fail in holding true to His convictions. In the strength of the indwelling Holy Spirit, we can do the same. After all, how we think determines how we live. To try and live like Jesus with both grace and truth in our lives, focus on these four ways of thinking…
Think -> I am a sinner who needs grace.
Romans 3:23 says that each and every person has sinned and fallen short of God’s standard. When we have “a broken, contrite heart” (Ps 51:17) over sin in our own lives, we are more prone to show grace.
Think -> Seek first to understand.
All too often, our human tendency is to jump to judgment. Jesus preached in His Sermon on the Mount about planks and specks in our eyes (Mt 7:3-5). Every person has a back story as to what is happening in their present. Grace enables us to know them – and their story – before passing judgment.
Think -> Have empathy, not just sympathy.
When someone passes away, we send a sympathy card to family or friends of the deceased. Sympathy acknowledges a loss, yet empathy feels the loss. Empathy is much deeper. When we attempt to put ourselves in the shoes of another person, we feel more of their suffering and struggle and tend to be more gracious towards them and less likely to bring down the hammer of truth on them. The last words of Peter to us were, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. To Him be glory, both now and forever more” (2 Peter 3:18). “But grow” is an imperative in Greek – a command that must be obeyed.
Think -> Build bridges of trust that bear the weight of truth.
When we drive across a bridge that spans a creek, it will often have a sign stating the weight limit of the bridge. Before I can speak truth to an individual, I must build a bridge of trust relationally. With great effort over time, we intentionally build up trust with individuals so that we can speak truth in love (Eph 4:15) to them.
All too often, I am out of balance. I tend to be heavier in truth with less grace in my life. The seesaw in how I think teeters to one side rather than to be balanced in a more God-honoring way. Only by yielding to the Spirit in me can I live more like Jesus.
After all, how I think determines how I live.
