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Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Today's Frontline Devotion February 2, 2008 Full of Grace and Truth |
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Frontline Devotion for Saturday, February 2, 2008 by Don Kress
Text for the Day: 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. (New King James Version)
In a Frontline Devotion that I wrote for November 10, 2007, I referred to this same passage of scripture and a point of view offered by the Reverend Dr. Selwyn Hughes (1928-2006), a noted Welsh pastor, speaker, and author. Hughes, in referring to the beginning of today’s text – “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…”– says that this is “the great divide of Christianity because it separates the Christian faith from every other religion on earth. In all other religions the emphasis is on humanity’s search for God; in Christianity the emphasis is on God’s search for men and women. The gospel of Jesus Christ is not merely an exhortation – in other words, telling us to do something – but an exhibition – showing us what God has done for us. Many religions have a word become words, but only the Christian faith has a Word become flesh.” Hughes is saying that in all other religions, their articles of belief (the word) are expressed through words that break down into philosophies, systems, techniques, etc. Their principles are conveyed in words. Only in Christianity did the Word become flesh. Our principles are conveyed in the Person of Jesus Christ.
I first became acquainted with the writings of Selwyn
Hughes in the early 1990s, and I have enjoyed them ever since. For whatever
reason, Hughes’ ideas and Biblical interpretations resonate with me. I can do
no better justice to today’s text and this devotion than to share with you a
writing by Selwyn Hughes on the last phrase of John 1:14 – that the Word was
full of grace and truth. Hughes writes:
“This means there are no contradictions in Christ’s character – grace and ungrace, truth and untruth. In Him there is grace and only grace; truth and only truth. He never taught a principle that He did not practice, and never made a moral statement that He did not demonstrate in His life…When John told us that Jesus is full of grace and truth he was saying that in Him there is no room for their opposites. He is one character, and only one.
“Over the years I have met some wonderful Christians, but the more I have got to know and relate to them, the clearer their imperfections have become. No doubt the same could be said by others about myself. What is my point? This: Christians have flawed characters; some are more flawed than others. We have grace and we have ungrace; we have truth and we have untruth – albeit unconsciously.
“Some have reached the stage in their spiritual development where there is far more grace than ungrace, and far more truth than untruth. They exhibit such fine qualities of character that they can be described as nearly perfect. Jesus, however, was not nearly perfect; He was absolutely perfect. ‘Can any of you prove me guilty of sin?’ He once asked a group of people (John 8:46). No one could find a flaw in Him. He is not only the best humanity has ever seen, but the best it will ever see. He is FULL of grace and truth.”
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for men like Selwyn Hughes, who help us better understand your Word. More importantly, thank you for your Son, Jesus Christ, who is full of grace and truth. Help me strive to have the beauty of Jesus’ character reflected in me. I ask it in the glory of His name. Amen.
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All are welcome to join and share in our Devotional Ministry on the "Frontlines" of the world. Frontline Devotions are sent via email daily. Sign up by clicking on the box to the left. Pastor Dave welcomes feedback. Contact him at pastordave@goodshepherdonline.org. |
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