Grace and Truth for 2021

It's been a little quiet on the blog recently. My apologies, we've been moving house and get organized to get started with Rochdale Evangelical Church. However, as 2020 comes to an end there have been a few things on my mind. In fact 2020 has provided the opportunity for a certain amount of reflection hasn't it?

One thing that has been an issue I've been thinking about over the last year has been how we engage - perhaps especially online. It's been a(nother) year of conflict whether over coronavirus or racial injustice or Brexit or questions of abuse. That's been true both within the Christian church and without.

A couple of verses have been rattling around my head. The first is a 'Christmas verse' - John 1:14. It describes Jesus as "full of grace and truth." The second is Paul's description of his testimony in Acts 26:25. He describes himself as "speaking true and rational words."

I've been thinking about how to put these things into practice this coming year.

Truth

There seem to me to be three important things I've learnt this year that cause us problems with the truth.

1. The truth we have in Jesus as Christians is the thing the world needs to hear most. If the issues of the conflicts of 2020 should have taught us anything it is that we have a world that desperately needs to hear the realities of sin, the cross, grace and hope for eternity. Yet as Christians we have perhaps too often spent time talking about other things. Can I be more focused on sharing the truth of Jesus in 2021?
2. Social media and sometimes more mainstream media can be the enemy of truth. As Christians we need to be very careful before we accept (and pass on) something as truth when we read it on the internet or hear it on the radio. Even people who have been trying to be careful when speaking about the truth this year have got things wrong. It is OK in the complex world we live in to accept that the truth of a situation may not be known or fully known. Can I accept the limitations of my knowledge and understanding with humility in 2021?
3. The truth is very important. We've learned that in all sorts of arenas in 2020, but, for example, understanding the truth about how the coronavirus works has been a developing and vital truth this year. As a complementary observation to that in point 2, we mustn't be scared to search for, speak for and argue for the truth. Sometimes Christians can be too 'vanilla' in this area. When I talk about the issues of grace and rationality below, they mustn't be used to muzzle the truth. Can I be bold in speaking the truth this year?

Grace

I've felt repeatedly uncomfortable with attitudes displayed (including my own) towards others this year. It seems to me that grace should affect both my speaking and my listening.

• In terms of my speaking, it seems to me that one way of thinking of gracious speech is to speak in such a way as to love the listener instead of myself. Especially challenging but important will be to speak in a loving way to those we perceive as not deserving that love. This doesn't necessarily mean that I don't criticise, but it does mean that the reason for criticism is the good of others, not the glory of myself. It doesn't necessarily mean I don't say things in public, but that when I do, the motive is love of others not myself. Often these are tough decisions, but an attitude of grace will help. Can I speak in ways that love others not myself in 2021?
• In terms of listening, I think again the attitude is one of love - even when undeserved. So will I give the words of someone else the best spin, not the worst when I disagree? Will I try to work out what they're trying to say, rather than assume they are in error and so on. In practice this kind of approach is likely to produce more light than heat, which is a good thing. It will also take much of the sting from arguments and make them productive. It won't mean we don't disagree - at times sharply. It will help fix our motives for disagreeing. Can I listen with love toward the speaker in 2021.

Rational

Finally, I was struck by Paul's use of "rational words." What a challenge! I think the truth is that I slip from rationality when I get angry and frustrated, perhaps especially when a conversation partner has, in my view, slipped from rationality.

The goal to me, seem that my words and my arguments need to make sense. This has two implications:

1. Quick arguments and responses are risky. Whether face-to-face or across the internet, I need to think carefully about my responses. In 2021 will what I say actually make sense?
2. Many of us know that you can play to the crowd and even 'win' and argument without being rational - in fact emotive arguments which don't make sense can be very effective! Will I eschew irrational approaches to 'win' and seek always to be reasonable in 2021?

Well those are my challenges for speaking in 2021. I know I haven't met them in 2020, so I'd better get praying from truth, grace and rational words in 2021!