Grace and Truth

This past week, while I was helping the team of high school graduates in my city, I had the opportunity to volunteer at Mother Teresa's home for women with mental and/or severe physical disabilities. I worked primarily with girls, while others worked with women. When we first arrived, we helped with the laundry. Some days it seemed like endless piles of sheets, dresses, and other articles of cloth were waiting for us to soak, scrub by hand, rinse, wring, and hang. I suppose in a home of 40 girls, it should be expected to have mounds of laundry everyday! I worked alongside several young ladies from the team and some national women. Some good conversation can happen during all the scrubbing and wringing!

After a chai break, we got to interact with the girls some. There are some of them are imprinted on my mind forever. Like the girl who can spell the days of the week in English using wooden blocks. Or the girl who can speak Hindi, Bangla, and some English and welcomed me up to the room where she stays. Or the girl who only repeats her name over and over again, but wants everyone to be happy and will wipe away the tears of someone else with her skirt-tail. The national women working here also hold a fond place in my memory. Using my little language and them giving me quite a bit of grace, I sat one morning and visited with them about life, their family, and how they came to work here.

Although it was great to work and serve these girls, I had a nagging feeling of unsettlement in me the entire time. Four years ago, when I first visited this city, I worked in some of Mother Teresa's orphanages and felt a similar feeling then as well. I'm not real sure I can put it into words, but I'm going to try.

I suppose the underlying premise of serving at Mother Teresa's is to be the hands and feet of ÁC. I think that is great. It is scriptural. ÁC commanded it.

However, I suppose my hesitation comes in when we don't put words to our action.

The volunteers at Mother Teresa's are about as diverse as they come. There might be a devout Catholic, an agnostic person wanting peace, a Baptist, a person searching for Truth. The list could go on to include many other people. What is the reason most of them are there? To show love.

Love is universal. Everybody wants it, everybody needs it, and everybody wants to give it. People want to make a difference and one of the best ways to do it is love. ÁC had a lot to say about love. Just a quick keyword search will bring up 698 times the word Love is used in the Word. There is no doubt Gsd is a Gsd of love, of grace, of mercy, of hope, of peace.

But, Gsd is also a Gsd of Truth. Truth. Truth that unites. Truth that divides. Truth that heals. Truth that hurts. Truth, that is, true.

One of the leaders from the team that was here shared a short message based off what John said about ÁC in the first chapter of John, "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." The leader said that often we would prefer John had said "truth and grace," but he didn't. ÁC so often used grace as a way to present Truth. For instance, in the story of the Woman at the Well, He offers her Living Water and then confronts her on her marital status. Many other times ÁC heals a person's physical ailment and then tells them to "go sin no more."

I know I often place a great amount of importance on Truth and then forget the importance of grace. Being in a culture where I don't know the language very well, has propelled me to act with more grace since I don't always know the words to impart Truth.

Nonetheless, I think it is important to note that ÁC always shared Truth. He never left people where they were—physically or spiritually. I don't think He ever missed an opportunity to speak Truth into someone's life—when it was eagerly accepted and even if it offended.

And, that lands me back at the unsettled feeling I get when I'm at Mother Teresa's. We are most definitely showing love and grace. The smile. The hand-holding. The singing. Drying someone's tears. Doing laundry. All that shows grace.

But, where is the truth? It was the question that swirled through my head all last week. It isn't a question meant to slam or hurt anyone. It is just a question.

In all I did last week, what eternal significance did it have? Did the life of anyone change? I was showing love in ÁC's name, but who would know that unless I told them? I could have just been doing it for the greater good, like so many of the other volunteers. My calling to love the poor is more than just for the greater good. My calling to love the poor is to bring Him glory and show others True Life in Him. Grace, followed by Truth.

I guess this is my conclusion: In a world that is increasingly concerned for the poor, the unloved, the taken advantage of, it is important as ÁC followers to show Grace. But, it is also important to give Truth. Lives here on earth are temporal. Eternity is forever. ÁC commands us to care for the hurting, but He also commands us to share Truth with them. Not one or the other—BOTH! So, as I go about my day, "Grace and Truth." And, I encourage you as you go about your day, "Grace and Truth."