Because He Has Perfect Balance

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory ... full of grace and truth." John 1:14

For most of my life, I was taught that there are five senses - seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, and smelling. They are distinct senses because specialized structures like skin and eyeballs register different sensory inputs. And each sense can accomplish its task independent of the others' structures; you don't need your nose to see, or your tongue to hear.

Then one day it occured to me - what about balance? Someone without sight or hearing standing on a small platform can tell if that platform begins to slowly tip to one side. He can't see, hear, taste, or smell the platform tip. Even without the sense of touch perceiving any shift in weight, as an astronaut in orbit, he can still tell when he's tipping sideways. It's those specialized structures, those canals filled with fluid inside his ears, that tell him he's off balance. So for me, balance passes the test. The sixth sense is not the ability to see dead people; the sixth sense is balance.

Nevertheless, while the wave of pride washed over me for discovering the secret "sixth," I realized there was still a great deal of imbalance in my life. I can walk and not fall over; great! But what about balancing the commitments in my life? Family, vocation, recreation. What about balancing my financial affairs? Earning, spending, donating, investing. And what about one of the rarer considerations in the realm of balance - balancing grace and truth? How often do we ask ourselves, "How well am I tendering the twin necessities of grace and truth?"

Grace empowers me to grant a second chance, to extend forgiveness. Grace makes room for imperfections. By grace, I give myself and others permission to miss the mark or exceed the deadline. Grace is a neccesity. Without it, I become ruthless and condemning.

Truth stands in contrast to grace. Truth establishes the deadlines and draws the "x" precisely on the mark. Truth sets standards of excellence. By truth, we engage reality and accept responsibility. Truth is also a necessity. Without it, I grow careless and licentious.

Rightly balancing grace and truth is an unrelenting challenge. That's why I follow Jesus. He is FULL of grace and truth. There is nothing lacking in him in regard to knowing truth and living by it. And there is nothing lacking in him in his provision of grace. The balance is struck to perfection in the person and work of Jesus Christ. If I follow him, perhaps I can live like him.

My un-Christlike self falls quickly upon the ones who transgress truth, yet falls over backwards to extend grace to me. I forgive myself too swiftly and others too slowly. I take God's grace lightly and set his truth aside. In those moments, I need to fix my eyes on Jesus. I need to follow him so close that I can hear him - almost smell, touch, and taste him. To stand in the place of balanced truth and grace, I must walk in the footsteps of Jesus.

That's why I follow him.
"...Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." John 1.17