Living in Grace and Truth
by Debbie Poer
When I began putting my thoughts to the topic of grace and truth in living like Jesus, I immediately thought of a dear friend, Ken. But the puzzling part was why did Ken keep coming into my thoughts every time I focused on grace and truth? Was there a story that the Holy Spirit wanted me to share with you? What encouragement was I to speak? Day followed day and still I kept hearing “Ken” whispered into my thoughts.
As I do with each month’s topic, I began praying and studying. I read definitions, opinions, and others’ research. Let me share with you a few things about grace and truth, most of which you probably already know, so think of it as a refresher course.
From bibleproject.com, a very basic definition for the Hebrew word grace is: “God’s free gift of life and goodness, rooted in enduring love for humanity, reflecting His nature to love without end, providing generously without regard to merit.” A definition for truth is a bit more complicated, but gotquestions.org provides a good starting point when it says that “the Hebrew word for ‘truth’ is emeth, which means firmness, constancy and duration; it implies an everlasting substance and something that can be relied upon.”
Early on, God’s grace is shared with us in Exodus 34:6 when we read of this characteristic of God – “Then the Lord passed by in front of him (Moses) and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth.” Throughout the Old Testament we read and hear of God’s grace, as, over and over again, He shows that aspect of His character to Israel.
Truth, which only comes from Him, is evident from the beginning to end of Scripture; from “In the beginning, God…” (Genesis 1:1) to “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End” (Revelation 22:13).
As we turn to the New Testament, specifically John 1:14 and 17, we learn Jesus is the personification of God’s grace and truth. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”
Through the example of Jesus’ life and words, we learn what grace looks like. It looks like (along with other things) going the extra mile (Matthew 5:38-42), loving our enemies (Matthew 5:43-48), and forgiving one another (Luke 17:4).
One of the ways in which God makes His truth known is through the “I AM ...” statements of Jesus. For those who are believers He tells us:
He sustains us. (“I’m the bread of life.” John 6:35)
We have a guiding light that the world doesn’t have. (“I’m the light of the world.” John 8:12)
He cares for us tenderly and intimately. (“I’m the gate for the sheep.” John 10:7-9)
He will do anything for us, including losing His life. (“I’m the good shepherd.” John 10:11)
He is life and He gives us His life. (“I’m the resurrection and life.” John 11:25)
Jesus is the only way to know God. (“I’m the way, truth, and life.” John 14:6)
Only by being grounded in our faith in Jesus can we be His true witnesses and bear fruit for Him. (“I’m the true vine.” John 15:1)
By now, you are probably really curious about what this has to do with my friend Ken. Before I go any farther, I have to tell you Ken was a very humble man and he would say I should not use him as an example. He would say he was simply living his life for Jesus. Maybe that’s why the Holy Spirit kept reminding me of my friend.
Ken loved without end. Whether it was his lovely wife, Jinnie, his daughter, Cindy, or the staff and students at Haus Edelweiss, he loved beyond measure. He always seemed to make it easy to go the extra mile, or love someone he did not agree with, or forgive us when we did something ungodly. He not only shared the truth of who God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are, but exemplified Them in the way in which he lived. He believed and lived according to Jesus’ I AM statements.
But there is more to the story. Probably without knowing it, he impacted the lives of more than he could ever have guessed in his simple pursuit of Jesus. Ken living in the grace and truth he learned from his Savior rubbed off on me. His spiritual life formed mine. I can only hope that I learned well from Ken, and I pray that people see a little bit of that grace and truth in me.
How about you? How are you striving to live like Jesus as you exhibit and share His grace and truth?
