“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”) Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” John 1:14-17
A circus performer carefully walks across the high wire carrying a large pole. Your washing machine begins making a huge racket and eventually stops until you rearrange the clothes. You purchase a new set of tires. The installer puts each tire on a machine and hammers in small weights where needed.
Each of these situations and others like them are examples of the critical importance of maintaining balance. It’s why we review our bank statements each month or watch our step when walking over uneven ground. We know that staying in balance is good for us.
That’s true in our spiritual lives as well. By keeping balance, our spiritual vitality remains strong – like the balance of work and rest or saving and giving. I could go on, but I think you get the point. Balance is critical for our souls.
It shouldn’t surprise us to hear that Jesus was a person of balance. John talked about that in the first chapter of his gospel. He said that Jesus was full of grace and truth – not once but twice in the space of just four verses. Throughout his entire life, Jesus maintained the correct balance between these twin virtues. We need to do the same thing, otherwise our unbalanced spiritual lives will spin wildly out of control as we favor one of these traits as opposed to the other.
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