WATCHWORD:
1 Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives, 2 but early the next morning he was back again at the Temple. A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them. 3 As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd. 4 “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?”
6 They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. 7 They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” 8 Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust. 9 When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. 10 Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?” 11 “No, Lord,” she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.” John 8:1-11
Meditation:
Truth and Grace
Okay, you and a friend are having a conversation about Heaven. Your friend thinks he will be surprised to see who is there. You reply, with a smile, that they may be more surprised to see you.
That kind of the conversation is lighthearted and with much good humor. There is a degree of truth in that exchange. In the midst of that conversation someone might wonder, isn’t it strange that God would send people to hell. Oh, I have a couple of candidates to nominate for that trip. The better question might be, how could God send sinful people to Heaven?
On matters of truth and grace, it occurs to me that we may not know the full definition of either one of those ideas. I have read essays that talk about what is truth, but when it comes to the matter of grace, I wonder if we fully understand what God’s grace is.
Do we see Grace as a ‘get out of jail free card’? You know that’s partly correct. Grace is God’s way of delivering us from what we really deserve. However, there is a ‘but’ there.
In his book The Cost of Discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer makes a distinction between cheap and costly grace. The short version – Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, or repentance. Costly grace comes to us as a call to follow Jesus.
And Jesus says to the woman caught in adultery, “Your sins are forgiven, go and sin no more.” That is costly grace. Cheap grace, Bonhoeffer says, is to hear the gospel preached as “Of course you have sinned, but now everything is forgiven, so you can stay as you are and enjoy the consolations of forgiveness”. No demand for discipleship.
Speak the truth in love. That is grace. Sometimes showing grace requires silence. At other times, it requires speaking up. Randy Alcorn makes this statement: “Unfortunately, many nonbelievers know only two kinds of Christians: those who speak the truth without grace and those who are very nice but never share the truth. What they need to see is a third type of Christian–one who, in the spirit of grace, loves them enough to tell them the truth.”
Alcorn makes a further statement: “If we minimize grace, the world would see no hope for salvation. If we minimize truth, the world sees no need for salvation. To show the world Jesus we must offer unabridged grace and truth, emphasizing both, apologizing for neither.”
Truth hates sin. Grace loves sinners.
Those full of grace and truth do both. Amen.
Veterans Day:
On this day, Veterans Day, it’s easy for me to recall my experience as part of this large band of veterans that we honor on this day. My time in Korea as an 18-19-year-old, was a life-changing experience and a lesson in what it means to serve. I also remember the amazing experience of attending an Honor Flight in Washington DC, with my daughter Stephanie, and what a meaningful experience that was for both of us. We came away with a deep and abiding understanding of what is meant to serve and to sacrafice. It is easy for anyone to say, “Thank You for your Service” but to a veteran hearing that directed at them, it strikes gratitude and appraciation in our hearts. May God bless all the veterans in your life.
Walk with the Good Samaritan!
My new book, The Inn on Jericho Road, is now available. Learn who is the woman at the well, talking with Jesus. Walk with the merchant as he travels to markets along the Jordan River, understand why he doubts the miracle stories he hears of the Carpenter/Rabbi. “They are just stories told to entertain…fables!” Follow Jesus’ ministry in the Chronology and on the map of the Holy Land. Get it in hardcover, paperback or as an eBook at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or your favorite online bookstore.
Closing Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father, In a day and age where sin, confusion and lack of grace and truth abounds – I pray for Your Holy Spirit’s help in these matters as we need Your help all the more. Some want to throw out truth all together in order to accommodate their definition even when it’s in opposition to Your Word. Help us to understand that Your truth is part of Your love and faith comes by hearing.
Some want to throw out grace all together and hit people over the head with their version of “truth”, forgetting that scriptures teach about grace and love which are not devoid of truth. You, oh Lord call us to both in love. Help us to never gloss over or reject Your truth. Help us to never gloss over or reject Your grace. Help us to be balanced in grace and truth in all things as Jesus came full of Your Grace and Truth. These prayers we offer in the Name of Jesus the Christ. Amen
