THE LORD BELIEVES IN YOU (2)

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28

“Full of grace and truth.” Jn1:14 NKJV

The faith the disciples put in Jesus isn’t that remarkable—after all, they were eyewitnesses to His miracles. What’s remarkable is the faith Jesus put in them—and the faith He puts in us! It’s not easy to see past people’s problems, much less their personalities. But that’s what Jesus does, and it’s how we should treat others too. Jesus certainly put the disciples in their place when the occasion called for it. When Jesus told His disciples He would die and be raised on the third day, “Peter...began to rebuke him...‘This shall never happen to you!’” (Mt16:22 NIV). Whereupon Jesus said to him: “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me” (v. 23 NIV). But in the same chapter, Peter identified Jesus as “the Son of the living God” and Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (see Mt16:16-19 NIV). Healthy relationships require both “grace and truth.” Grace means, “I’ll love you no matter what,” and truth means, “I’ll be honest with you no matter what.” No one was more graceful and truthful than Jesus. And when these two elements combine in your life, you’re loving people the way Jesus did.