John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
John was one of Jesus’ favourite disciples. He often referred to himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved”. On hearing this, one would assume that John was in-tune with the character and nature of Christ.
However, this is far from the truth.
Remember the time when Jesus wanted to visit a Samaritan village, but the people rejected Him? John, immediately, told Jesus to call fire from heaven and destroy the village. But, Jesus had no intention of hurting anyone, let alone an entire village. He rebuked John for harbouring such thoughts.
Jesus wanted his disciples to handle situations with grace and truth, just like He did when a mob of men brought an adulterous woman to Him and asked if she should be stoned.
Jesus replied, “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone”. With one succinct sentence, He dismissed the crowd. Later, He asked the woman, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
“No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” – John 8: 10-11
The Lord Jesus offered grace to the woman when He forgave her. However, He also blended grace with the truth when He kindly told the woman to abandon her sinful ways.
Over the years of journeying with Jesus, John was transformed into a person of grace and truth. He was no longer the person who called fire from heaven to destroy people, but a person who encouraged love.
He even wrote, “For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another” (1 John 3:11)
As we journey with Christ, He will mould us into people with grace and truth. Nurture these traits and put them into practice because they hold the power to change the world!
