“We often hear the phrase ‘full of grace and truth,’ but we rarely stop and realize its implications for our struggles here on earth.”

A thought by Henry Cloud, from his book, Changes That Heal (p. 23). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

Henry starts this section off by saying, “Our God is a God ‘full of grace and truth’ (John 1:14).” He then says, “We often hear the phrase ‘full of grace and truth,’ but we rarely stop and realize its implications for our struggles here on earth. What are grace and truth? Why are they so important?”

He goes on, “Let’s take grace first. Grace is the unmerited favor of God toward people. Grace is something we have not earned and do not deserve. . . To put it another way, grace is unconditional love and acceptance. Such love is the foundation upon which all healing of the human spirit rests. It is also the essence of God. ‘God is love,’ writes the apostle John (1 John 4:8). And God loves us freely, without condition.”

He then says, “Grace is the first ingredient necessary for growing up in the image of God. Grace is unbroken, uninterrupted, unearned, accepting relationship.”

In looking at truth, Henry says, “Truth is the second ingredient necessary for growing up in the image of God. Truth is what is real; it describes how things really are. Just as grace is the relational aspect of God’s character, truth is the structural aspect of his character. Truth is the skeleton life hangs upon; it adds shape to everything in the universe. God’s truth leads us to what is real, to what is accurate. Just as our DNA contains the form that our physical life will take, God’s truth contains the form that our soul and spirit should take.”

He later says, “All of us, to some degree, have experienced these two gods—the loving one for whom anything goes and the hard one who lets nothing slide. As you have probably already realized, these two gods are aspects of the one true God’s nature, aspects that different churches emphasize. What you may not realize is that these different ‘gods’ are really symbols of the human condition after the fall, when sin ripped grace and truth apart.”

Henry later says, “With grace alone, we are safe from condemnation, but we cannot experience true intimacy. When the one who offers grace also offers truth (truth about who we are, truth about who he or she is, and truth about the world around us), and we respond with our true self, then real intimacy is possible. Real intimacy always comes in the company of truth.”

We need both, not either-or.  We need both grace and truth to be work through our struggles.  We need both to live as Christ did, don't we? 

Yes, yes!