Which one do I tell myself, grace or truth? Of all the people I listen to or hear and messages that I see, I am the one who talks to me the most. I talk to myself all day. I am constantly thinking about my choices and words. I tell myself what I think of those choices. Sometimes I barely realize that I am talking to myself. So of all the content that I feed me, is it grace or truth?
Naturally I do neither. It is so easy to lie to myself. I excuse myself to myself to make me fell better about my thoughts and actions (a lie). Or I convince myself I am far worse than I really am (also a lie). Neither of these are grace.
When Jesus came, he was full of both.
John 1:14 - The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
At first, I am afraid to hear what Jesus would say if he spoke the truth. He really knows who I am. But his truth breaths grace into me. Instead of using that truth to simply expose me, naked and ashamed, he uses it to heal me. His truth is grace. His truth is forgiveness. His truth is empowerment. His truth is love. With truth he speaks, "Here is your salvation. Have it. It's all yours."
So now I can speak lies to myself, or I can speak the truthfilled grace that Jesus speaks. I choose his grace.