So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son. John 1:14 (NLT)
When Jesus came to the planet, He was the complete opposite of what was expected.
At the time, the religious leaders had a certain picture of what their Messiah would be like. They probably assumed He would be full of righteous anger, judgment and condemnation, but He wasn’t. He was “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Although Jesus never compromised on the truth, He was the perfect example of what it means to be full of unconditional, undeserved love and favour, which is also known as “grace.”
Grace is wonderful, but it’s kept in balance by truth. You see, if we forget about truth, we get into trouble. For example, parents who focus only on grace might excuse their kids’ behaviour even when it’s wrong. They have the unconditional love aspect right, but they don’t realize that they’re raising kids who don’t understand consequences in life, and those kids are in for a rude awakening when they hit the real world.
On the other hand, if we forget about grace, we become legalistic and judgmental. There’s no love, acceptance or forgiveness when our kids do wrong. Sure, we value honesty and that’s great. But love is expected to be earned, so that’s how our kids begin to see God.
When we follow Jesus’ example, we create an attractive atmosphere. Everyone loves to come home to a family atmosphere that’s full of both grace and truth. So in your life, don’t hold out on truth, but make sure you pour out grace first.