John 1:16-17 And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

Many years ago I sat in the front row of a church I was attending. The teacher pointed at me and asked me for the definition of grace. My answer was; “The outpouring of God’s love in my life.” He looked at me disappointed, and called on another member and received the answer he was looking for; “unmerited favor.” I’d heard it so many times before, why couldn’t I come up with the book answer?

The first usage of grace is found in Genesis where Noah found grace in God’s eyes. This looking upon was from God’s perspective, not Noah’s. Teachers often teach grace as a gift received, without merit. In the Hebrew grace is chen, with two primary definitions. One definition is favor, the other is loathsome. This is the root of understanding of the legalistic mind that cannot hold two opposing thoughts to be true at the same time.

In the opening verse grace in the Greek is charis, literally meaning appearance. It is the root to our words charisma, charming, and charismatic. They denote a pleasant and desirable appearance, influence and emulation soon follow. Outwardly we could look at John 1:16 as not all that different from Genesis 6:8 in the face of the word received, but here is where the Old Testament and New Testament differ, grace for grace.

God’s love is shed abroad in our hearts to be seen, the appearance of Christ in our lives. We are given grace to exhibit grace. The Old Testament view was to take it in, receive it and keep it to yourself. I call this view legalistic in that it edifies no one. The value of grace is that it can be and should be seen. We are called to be salt and light, and grace can no longer be grace if it is not shown, to appear, to reveal itself to others.

My teacher so many years ago heard a word from the Lord but shunned it because it did not fit his lesson plan. Grace would have recognized itself, embraced it and thrown the lesson plan aside. Legalism sticks to the letter and will not budge in the light of truth. Legalism is unyielding and hardens the heart.

According to John 1:16 you have received the fullness of Christ. The spirit of truth guides you and will help you identify that which edifies and that which does not. If it edifies it is gracious.

I see much grace around me. Thank you Lord.

James 3:17-18 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.

In the opening scene of the old television series Gunsmoke, Marshal Matt Dillon faces down his opponent. The camera looks up at his face, the message might be that this is a man to be looked up to in life, a righteous man. Then his gun hand moves, drawing his gun and just before his gun fires you hear the other gun fire. It would have sent the wrong message if the marshal drew first. The message was consistent with the vision, he is a righteous man dealing with evil. His hand is steady and sure, it does not move as the scene ends, the smoking gun still clutched in the hand of the winner.

That is the funny thing about sending messages, you try as hard as you can to paint the proper picture, frame it, direct it, visualize it, and as soon as you send the message, it is out of your control as to how it is received. All our good intentions go for nothing if received by a troubled person. I cannot say that anyone else felt the same thing I did by the scene. Some may have said to themselves that good and evil solve their problems in the same way, by violence. Some might have told themselves that if I want respect, I need to buy a gun. Some might not even be aware of how they received the message, or that there was a message being delivered at all.

Our verse from James today reminds me that the image I project as a Christian has to start with who I am. I first had to make peace with my God, then I had to make peace with myself. I have to sow the seed of peace in my heart so that it would develop that righteousness that can be seen by others. I cannot control how others perceive any more than that smoking gun. The only thing I am responsible for is the seed I sow in my own body because those are the things that will grow and be seen. Beyond that God is in control and I need to allow Him to deal with the enemy.

Matthew 7:16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

Heavenly Father help me and our dear readership to choose wisely those seeds we sow in our hearts. AMEN