Lately I’ve been meditating on the familiar (and therefore neglected) words of Jesus in Matthew 11:28-30. Though I memorized the words as a new Christian 45 years ago, I have never pondered them as much as recently.

If your grumpy neighbor asks, “What are you up to?” you’ll see it as a suspicious, condemning question. But if your cheerful neighbor asks the same thing, you’ll smile and talk about your plans. We interpret people’s words according to how we perceive their character and outlook. So it is with our view of God.

All too often, as believers we don’t realize that the greatest kindness we can offer each other is the truth. Our job is not just to help each other feel good but to help each other be good. We often seem to think that our only options are to: 1) speak the truth hurtfully; or 2) say nothing in the name of grace. This is a lie.

Ephesians 4:15 tells us we need to “speak the truth in love.” As Christ-followers, we are not to choose between being loving and being truthful. 

I have seen firsthand people watching the JESUS Film for the first time, in their own languages, viewing Jesus with awe and wonder and affection, then crying out in agony when He is tortured and crucified.

Imagine a great and generous king. In the midst of his benevolent reign, he hears his subjects have revolted. 

The world is desperately hungry for two things—grace and truth. Jesus Christ is full of both: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). When Jesus stepped onto the world’s stage, people could not only hear the demands of truth but also see Truth Himself. No longer fleeting glimmers of grace, but Grace Himself.

In 1987, eighteen-month-old “Baby Jessica” fell twenty-two feet into a Texas well. Rescuers labored nonstop to save her. 

What if the character of Christ was reducible to two ingredients?