Today, we celebrate the Second Week of Advent, the season leading up to Christmas. It is also the second week of our new Advent message series called, “Grace and Truth.” Jesus came to our world “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).
 
Grace is unmerited favor. It is God’s help. Grace is unmerited, which means you can’t buy it and you don’t earn it, all you can do is receive it and cooperate with it. Truth is reality. It is something we discover, not something we create. Truth without grace can become judgmental, legalistic, and lack the warmth and kindness of grace. But grace without truth isn’t really grace — it’s lawless or even enabling, and doesn’t provide the true judgments we need to learn and grow stronger.
 
While Jesus brings grace and truth completely, we all fall short and instead tend to live grace or truth. Jesus shows us what it means to be people of both grace and truth. This week, we reflect on a very important message from John the Baptist that can help us bridge the gap between grace and truth: “Repent.”
 
Today, spend some time reflecting on John the Baptist’s message of repentance. What sins, bad habits, or lifestyle choices do you need to root out of your heart to experience more fully the grace and truth Jesus brings?