Some things were just meant to go together, like peanut butter and jelly, bacon and eggs, Bonnie and Clyde, and Batman and Robin. Alone they are okay, but when they are combined…wow…the whole is far greater than the sum of its parts. While in Brazil last week God showed me that the same principle is true (and necessary) for any gospel outreach to be successful. What possibly could go hand in hand, be so intimately associated, that when combined the gospel becomes so attractive and people of all ages reach out for it? Grace and Truth.
John 1:14 tells us, “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” How was it that the Savior reached so many needy souls while here? Grace and Truth. How was it that you and I were saved? Grace and Truth. How then should we be presenting the gospel to others? Grace and Truth. “Grace” being kindness bestowed which one does not deserve, that which affords joy, pleasure and good-will. “And,” herenot meaning just that which connects things, but implying equivalence and balance. “Truth,” here being not just fact, but specifically, that which the gospel is.
I’m not sure why it took a 6500 mile trip to Natal, Brazil to teach me this lesson, but it did. I’d like to think it was a just change of scenery or perhaps the 10 days away from the magnetic pull of my Blackberry that was all God needed to speak to me…but I would only be deceiving myself if I allowed myself to think that. Rather, it was the removal from an environment of self-sufficiency and self-dependence (that I seem to cherish so much) that was necessary to break through my unyielding heart.
While in Brazil I saw firsthand the synergy that occurs when Grace and Truth are employed together. I saw it everyday, in many different forms. While dropping off Christmas dinner at the orphanage in Pium I witnessed complete strangers stopping by unannounced to drop off bags of cement to be used for the completion of a new building. Cleide, who runs the orphanage, told us she had no idea who they were and that they were from another country and didn’t even speak Portuguese! While at the Rodoviária (bus station) street stop handing out rice, beans and juice I witnessed bus drivers pulling over (holding up traffic) and opening their doors to ask for the tracts and calendars, while those riding the bus reached out of their windows and banged the sides of the bus to get our attention so they could get the tracts themselves! While at the rehab center delivering turkeys and rice for Christmas dinner I watched as a church group sang hymns and opened the Bible during one of the three sessions a day the men receiving treatment there are required to listen to the gospel. While in the favela infamously called Mosquito, I witnessed over 100 men, woman and children pour out of their makeshift homes with various pots and pans and patiently stand in line in 100 °F temperatures to receive rice, beans, juice and a tract. While in Aningas, at the Sunday night gospel meeting, I witnessed children of all ages who likely never heard the gospel four years ago, recite and reference verses perfectly while happily answering questions about the Bible, God and salvation.
I can’t list all the accounts I saw firsthand where misfortune was met with Grace and Truth during my visit to Brazil. All I can attest to is that Grace and Truth works. Perhaps not in the timeframe that we here in the US would like to see results, but working according to God’s timing. People here have been saved by God’s grace because they have been afforded Grace and Truth. Time and effort has been taken to build relationships and in doing so doors have been opened (literally), providing an environment for God to come in and save. Sure, summer tents could be set up here, tracts could be delivered door to door and weekly gospel meetings could be held in various local towns, but they likely would be lacking the Grace and Truth that our Savior Himself prescribed. He could have healed the leper by simply saying the words, but instead He took the time to touch him. He could have healed Jarius’s daughter where He was, but instead He went to her home and taking her hand raised her from the dead. Sure, He could have sent the 5000 away with an eloquent message, but instead He fed them with a few loaves and fishes. In fact, He could have come from heaven and gone directly to the cross, but He came and “dwelt among us” for 30+ years in order to minister unto us. Why? Grace and Truth – they are inseparable, always together and they are the means of setting people free through Christ. John 8:36 tells us “if the Son (full of grace and truth) sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
Here at home in the States we have gospel outreaches too. We reach out to our communities in a number of ways; tent meetings, vacation Bible schools, Sunday School, Sunday night gospel meetings, mall and fair kiosks, mailings, billboards and newspaper advertisements, rehab, prison and nursing home visits also mark our calendars. We see some interest; a few even respond and are saved by the grace of God. But why only a few? Are we not preaching the same gospel as our Savior and the Apostles? Yes, we are…but for the most part, these opportunities are sporadic, often annual occurrences, or provide only limited prospect for building relationships. We ask people to come to where we are, rarely follow-up with them, and almost never do anything for them without preaching at them first. For the most part our testimonies in our neighborhoods and workplaces, where relationships could be cultured and forged, are restricted to simple greetings and occasional invitations to hall functions. We like to think we “live the Truth” before them, in the hope that they will someday want to have what we portray we have. Would it be too bold to suggest that while we commendably profess the Truth we, generally speaking, are lacking in showing Grace… I know that I do. How about you?
Grace and Truth doesn’t only work in impoverished places like we find in Brazil. Take a moment to think of the relationships you have been a part of that have brought spiritual blessings. Perhaps a Sunday School student who after years of learning verses and Bible stories came to understand their personal need of a Savior. Maybe a friend at school, who over lunch time you have been telling them about Jesus and how He has changed your life, and this then led to them coming to hear the gospel and being saved. Perhaps a fellow worker, who after years of working side by side with you and showing yourself friendly, came to you in a time of crisis, and this then opened the door to speak a word in the gospel. How did these things come to be? Grace and Truth. Not all of us will have the opportunity to travel to Brazil and experience what I and others have experienced alongside Mark and Lori and Vá Livre. But all of us have the opportunity to exercise Grace and Truth amongst the many needy and unsaved where we live, within our own sphere of influence. May God give us the desire to do so today.
“For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17).
Mark Williamson
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