When we slow down and read the Scriptures, one thing becomes clear pretty quickly: Jesus doesn’t fit into our neat boxes. He is high and holy, and at the same time meek and lowly. He speaks truth with clarity, and He overflows with grace. He never lowers God’s standards, and He never turns away broken people.
That tension can be uncomfortable for us.
Most of us naturally lean one direction. Some of us emphasize truth so strongly that we forget what gentleness sounds like. Others emphasize grace so deeply that we struggle to speak clearly and can create confusion. When we camp out on just one side of that tension, something starts to break. We can sound judgmental without realizing it, or unclear without meaning to be. And division has a way of growing quietly in those spaces.
But Jesus never chose one side over the other. He held both together, fully and beautifully.
The problem isn’t tension. The problem is our rush to resolve it. When we simplify what Jesus intentionally held together, we often end up protecting our opinions instead of reflecting His heart. Healing doesn’t come from being louder or more articulate. It comes from becoming more like Him.
So how do we live in the same tension Jesus lived in?
We stay close to Him. We remain humble and teachable. We listen more than we speak. We resist the urge to label quickly or assume the worst. We speak truth when it’s needed, but we do it with compassion, patience, and prayer. We remember that people are not problems to fix but neighbors to love.
The world doesn’t need Christians who have everything figured out. It needs followers of Jesus who are able to live in the tension, gentle in the way we walk with one another, and courageous enough to reflect both grace and truth.
This is slower work. It’s harder work. But it’s holy work. And it’s the way of Jesus.
Peace,
Nick
.
image: detail of Radiant Tension by Michael Bertoli
That tension can be uncomfortable for us.
Most of us naturally lean one direction. Some of us emphasize truth so strongly that we forget what gentleness sounds like. Others emphasize grace so deeply that we struggle to speak clearly and can create confusion. When we camp out on just one side of that tension, something starts to break. We can sound judgmental without realizing it, or unclear without meaning to be. And division has a way of growing quietly in those spaces.
But Jesus never chose one side over the other. He held both together, fully and beautifully.
The problem isn’t tension. The problem is our rush to resolve it. When we simplify what Jesus intentionally held together, we often end up protecting our opinions instead of reflecting His heart. Healing doesn’t come from being louder or more articulate. It comes from becoming more like Him.
So how do we live in the same tension Jesus lived in?
We stay close to Him. We remain humble and teachable. We listen more than we speak. We resist the urge to label quickly or assume the worst. We speak truth when it’s needed, but we do it with compassion, patience, and prayer. We remember that people are not problems to fix but neighbors to love.
The world doesn’t need Christians who have everything figured out. It needs followers of Jesus who are able to live in the tension, gentle in the way we walk with one another, and courageous enough to reflect both grace and truth.
This is slower work. It’s harder work. But it’s holy work. And it’s the way of Jesus.
Peace,
Nick
.
image: detail of Radiant Tension by Michael Bertoli