One Small Seed Newsletter – Edition #243 June, 2021
Greetings my friends,
There are two things that are imperative to our relationship with a Holy God and to the social order of mankind. These two things are Grace and Truth. These two things are gifts from God that came into the world with the coming of the Messiah, or the coming of God’s Word in flesh. Along with these two gifts came also the gift of the Holy Spirit and the gift of eternal life.
Truth is the essence of God, which he has revealed through, and in, His word and manifested through the power of His Holy Spirit. Grace then is the manifestation of God’s character, the offspring of his unconditional and uncompromising love, which he has also manifested through the power of his Holy Spirit.
The Apostle John wrote (3 John, Verse 4) I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. And in (1 John 3:18-19) he explains what walking in truth means, “My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth, and hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.” So, love then is our response to the Grace and Truth that God gave to and shared with us. John said (2 John, Verse 6) “And this is love, that we walk after His commandments. This is the commandment, that, as ye have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it”. Then back to (2 John, Verse 5) “And now I beseech thee, lady, not as, though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another”.
At this particular place in time, we need to adhere to truth and consider in love the future of our families and friends. Love is extended to the unborn as well as to the elderly. It is extended to those we disagree with as well as those who agree. Love is colorblind and has no language barrier. Love is tolerant and long suffering, but love does not tolerate all things, but because of grace, love “beareth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things” (1 Corinthians 13:7). Love does not tolerate anything contrary to the essence of its nature. That is, anything that is anti-love or anything that is anti-Christ. This means that God is love, and his will for us is to draw nigh to him and when we resist the evil one, God will draw nigh to us.
A good example of Grace and Truth is in John 3:16-21: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest their deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be manifest, that they are wrought in God”.
Love is the essential element of any viable society. Love is the essential element that keeps justice in the law, peace in the streets, and Christians in the fellowship of the body of Christ. Grace and truth are the two pillars upon which love rest. Honesty and integrity companioned with patience and long suffering. What a team!
Your friend in Christ,
Rodney