Like the restoration of a famous painting that has collected centuries of dirt and grime, our own faith needs a reset now and then. The reason we often have to reset is that we’ve added layers and layers to something that was always meant to be simple.
But resets can be messy. Take your garage for instance. To reset your garage and really get it clean you have to roll your sleeves up and get to work. Get dusty and dirty. Get sweaty. Get messy.
Our faith can get messy when we go through a reset. But what you end up with on the other side is always worth the work and risk. Because you’ll always get to the essence of that faith.
John, in his gospel, used two words to describe the essence of Jesus – grace and truth. In other words, when you flake away the layers and layers of culture and debate and study and doctrine, at the heart of it Jesus’ mission can be described with these two simple words.
He came to give us grace.
He came to give us truth.
Why is it, then, that we are so stubborn to receive them? Let’s look at what each of those words mean. For a moment, put away all the layers that you’ve built on top of those two words and try to get to the heart of each of them.
Grace, or charis in the Greek, means favor. It’s the same word that would be used to describe a gift, something unearned but given anyway. It’s a kindness. The important thing to understand here is that it is not earned.
Truth, or alitheia in the Greek, means the way things are. It’s a confirmation of an external reality. Again, the important thing to understand here is that is it not subjective.
At his very core, Jesus is grace and truth. He doesn’t just offer them to us without strings attached. He is grace and truth. If you know Jesus, then you know grace and truth.
“I am the way, the truth, and the life.”
John 14:6
So if we want to know God’s truth, we need to know God’s Son – Jesus. And if we want to experience his grace, then we need to get close to Jesus.
But in rejecting grace and truth, we end up reject Jesus. We would never do that, right? John 1:11 says that we have. “He came to his own, but his own did not receive him.” You could say it this way – “He came to give grace and truth to those who needed it most, but they rejected them both.” Why? I struggle to understand this.
I think the key is that as important as grace and truth are, they require us to do something very difficult. We have to admit that we are not enough and that we are wrong.
The reason we reject grace is that it means we have to admit that we aren’t able on our own to save ourselves. And that’s hard to do. The American spirit? You can do anything you put your mind to. The Instagram lifestyle? You’re good enough on your own and you don’t need anyone else’s help. The DIY mentality? You’ve got this all by yourself.
But the concept of grace refuses to believe any of that. It’s the exact opposite. You need someone else to help you out of your situation. That’s grace.
The reason we reject truth is pretty much the same. We have to admit we are wrong, and no one wants that. In the “post-truth” society we live in, we see error as weakness. To be strong means that we never make a mistake. No red pen marks on our ledger.
But the concept of truth is not about correcting wrongs. It’s about embracing the reality that is all around us. Not only the harsh ones, but the great truth of God’s love for us.
Grace and truth. Hard pills to swallow. But both necessary if we want to be closer to Jesus.
Most of us seem to lean one way or the other. We either come down hard on truth in raising our kids, leaving no room for grace. Or we go soft on the other person, denying the wrongs that stare us in the face.
What is amazing is that God doesn’t choose one over the other. Grace and truth are never an either/or proposition. They work together, in tandem. When we accept the truth about ourselves, we can lead others into that same truth. When we receive grace in our lives, we are ready to offer it to others when they fail.
The first key to resetting our lives in the same mold as Jesus is to accept grace and truth for ourselves. Once we’ve done that, we can start spreading it around. It’s not just about a reset for the sake of our own faith. It’s about being able to extend it to others.
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