“And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (Jn 1:14)
Dear Friend of Vision.
A few years back I wrote a book on this topic, titled Grace and Truth: The Twin Towers of the Father’s Heart.” My premise was that if Jesus was full of grace and truth, grace being first but in tandem with truth, which is relational more than propositional), then the Father, whom Jesus came to reveal, and who he directly represents (see Heb. 1), then so is the Spirit, and so should be his church. Grace is more than undeserved favor, it is also empowerment, to live the abundant life Christ promises us. Truth is Jesus…and following the patterns of Christ will lead us into the wisdom of God, as we are motivated by love as Jesus is.
As we teach, parent, serve, study, our goal should be (though we will never obtain the goal perfectly) to live from a place of grace, always caring more about others than ourselves, and using the gifts (charisma) that God has given for God’s glory and the worlds benefit, while living a life of integrity (truth) where are words and deeds are consistent, not self-righteously, but genuinely as we seek to know what pleases the Lord…together.
Dr Stan