Have you ever heard it said that some Christians are truth people and others are grace people, and it takes both for the body of Christ to be spiritually healthy? The problem with that statement is that it is not Christlike. John 1:14 says that Jesus is “full of grace and truth,” and verse 17 says that “grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.” If Jesus is full of grace and truth, and Christlikeness is God’s call on every Christian’s life, then every Christian, no matter their personality type or what part of the country or world they come from, should be a grace and truth person. If you speak truth into someone’s life, it has to be laced with grace, or it is not Christlike. Are you one of those people who feels led to speak your mind to others? As a Christian, you have the mind of Christ, and therefore, people need to hear you speak the mind of Christ, not your mind, into their lives. Ephesians 4:15 tells us to “speak the truth in love,” and Romans 13 says that love is patient and kind, does not act unbecomingly (rude – curt), is not provoked, and does not take into account a wrong suffered. Three aspects of the fruit of the Spirit are patience, kindness, and gentleness. If your conversation with others doesn’t have these characteristics, then the truth you are telling them – or at least your idea of the truth, which you think is going to help them – is not coming from the mind of Christ. When people hear your voice, they need to receive a dose of Jesus, not a dose of your frustration and attitude. It is liberating to live and speak from the mind of Christ, and when you do, it liberates others.
