Bars in Low Places

…grace and truth came to be through Jesus Christ. ~ John 1:17b NASB

Raising Bars in Low Places

In His life on earth, Jesus had a habit of raising bars in low places. When He walked in full of grace and truth, the atmosphere was charged with something different than the now ‘acceptable’ lower standard by which to live.

He never failed to meet them at their level of bar, no matter how low or lofty it was, real or imagined. When He departed their company, He left his Father’s calling card in the form of a new bar higher than the previous one.

I have said it before and will say it again: none of us go from zero to completion in a nanosecond because we confessed that we are a sinner, need Jesus as our Savior, and ask for His redeeming blood to cover us so we may be reunited with the Father. That is called salvation. What we get in that nanosecond is Christ’s robe of righteousness in exchange for our filthy rags, no longer separated from the One who gave us our life. From dark into His Light. Though by now it should not need to be stated, it is merely the first step of our new life in Christ.

If any of us born healthy took one step as a new walker, then called it good, would be asinine on our part. Fear, stubbornness, disinterest, or simply not being ready yet may affect timing of learning to walk, but not prevent it. The human spirit is capable of much more. A one-year-old may not cognitively know that, but their spirit does.

Enter Jesus, determined that bars in low places primarily placed in childhood that remain handy blame devices for not growing up in Him, must go so we may grow. His method is from strength to strength and glory to glory.¹ That doesn’t sound much like remaining in the reasonings of our lower nature, while insulting His very salvation.

The Perfect Balance of Grace and Truth

“The Voice took on flesh and became human and chose to live alongside us. We have seen Him, enveloped in undeniable splendor—the one true Son of the Father—evidenced in the perfect balance of grace and truth.” ²

Aware of the purpose for which the Father sent Him, Jesus was a walking example of the cross on which He died. Standing upright, He was full of grace; across His shoulders, He carried the balancing beam, full of truth.

In his commentary, Matthew Henry artfully stated the stature of Jesus –

Full of grace – fully acceptable to His Father

Full of truth – fully aware of the things He was to reveal

The outcome is that if we have been crucified with Christ,³ His desire is that we be filled with His grace and truth.

An Earthly Picture of Spiritual Olympics

Alongside the imagery of the Roman soldier’s armor, Paul wrote of our life in Christ as a race each one runs.⁴

During the XXXIII (33^rd) Olympiad in France, my husband and I watched televised finals for the men’s pole vault. Twenty-four-year-old Mondo Duplantis, in a stunning display of focus, speed, and strength, soared cleanly over the bar height of 6.25 meters or 20.6 feet. He won the gold medal and went on to break his own world record.

The fact that he vaulted at a height equivalent to a two-story building does not make him superhuman. Viewers were given a glimpse of his beginnings in his backstory. His parents narrated video of their little boy with the broomstick ‘vaulting’ onto the couch. A longer pole had them determine his vaulting needed to move outdoors. They set him up with a run and incrementally higher bars. He continued to grow until his stride and the bar height needed more length to run in. They then opened the gate and continued the run even further and higher.

While raising their son, Mondo’s parents graced his athletic ability by raising the bar and lengthening his reach. When he won the high prize, their joy was witness to the truth and grace of the discipline their child embraced. ⁵ 

Growing up as God’s child, Holy Spirit does immeasurably more ⁶ as we take to heart each revealing word of Christ, filled with grace and truth. He remains ardent for each of us about our working out what He is working in.

Running a Good Race

The next evening, we watched the men’s 1500-meter run. Talk about another ‘spiritual Olympics’ unfolding…

In this contest, the commentators focused on the top two athletes predicted to win. The only thing left was to award the gold and silver between the two. Interspersed in the commentary was a camera and sound capturing bodacious claims of the gold medal defending champion and the one with slightly less ego, dishing it right back.

With each runner on their mark, the other countries’ competitors were basically chump change for the bronze.

About now is when you exhort yourself, ‘This is a long race. There are others running beside me, but this is not so much about them as it is about why I have spent days, weeks, months, years, and countless hours in training.’

At the shot, the runners settled in with gold medal defender in the lead, setting the pace. As expected, the ‘only other real contender’ kept pace with him. Multiple laps run and as the race wore on, the time came for others who had likewise trained to begin positioning themselves with what gas in the tank was left. If, as Paul exhorted, they wanted to “run to win!”, now was the time to prove why such discipline is worth it.

As some began to move nearer the front, eyes fell on one who was methodically making headway until he was right behind the first two. Having come from the middle of the pack, he grew stronger with each stride. His pace quickened; he went to make his move only to be cut off. Slightly falling back, he stayed on course at his pace.

While being interviewed after his stunning upset at winning the gold medal, his reply when asked about being cut off was the response of a committed spirit, soul, and body. “It opened up, and God and I ran the rest together.” Later met with similar questioning, Cole Hocker credited ‘divine intervention’. In the end, he and his countryman Nuguse stood on the podium with gold and bronze – one of the predicted two between them.

Personalized Takeaways

There are takeaways to be had from each of the sections written above. I urge you to read, journal, make notes, look up the scriptures for yourself, and carefully consider in what low place Holy Spirit is raising the bar for you.

The Lord’s eyes still range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him.⁷

Personally, the Spirit of Truth & Grace series was ignited by seeing and hearing many things that plague the body of Christ. I am here by the Lord’s grace, healing, and power to testify to what He can produce in a spirit set free. Not once, but continually, as He raises bars in now ‘too low’ places. Christ in us knows what He is capable of through us.

Ephesians 4:12-13 (Living Bible)

Why is it that he gives us these special abilities to do certain things best? It is that God’s people will be equipped to do better work for him, building up the Church, the body of Christ, to a position of strength and maturity; ¹³ until finally we all believe alike about our salvation and about our Savior, God’s Son, and all become full-grown in the Lord—yes, to the point of being filled full with Christ.

~ Gracefully Free

¹ Psalm 84:5-7; II Corinthians 3:18    ² John 1:14 – The Voice

³ Galatians 2:20 -21 ~ “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”

⁴ I Corinthians 9:24-27; Galatians 5:7-8     ⁵ Hebrews 12:11     ⁶ Ephesians 3:20-21     ⁷ II Chronicles 16:9              

More encouragement and timely reinforcement to dig deeper still in Christ to nobly run your race:

Photo Credit: Pexels-Pixabay-33783 │ ©2024 Nancy C. Bentz