“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.”—John 1:14.

The story is told about a lady who gave her preacher a pie that she had just baked herself. He thanked her for it and took it home. The pie looked wonderful, but it had a terrible taste. After only one bite, he decided to throw it in the trash.

The preacher knew that the lady would ask him about the pie, which presented him with a dilemma. He wanted to tell the truth, but he also wanted to be graceful. How could he avoid being deceitful, and at the same time keep from hurting his friend’s feelings?

Sure enough, the next time he saw her, the lady asked him how he liked the pie. She beamed with satisfaction when he answered, “A pie that tastes like that doesn’t last long at our house!”

Only Jesus could be perfectly truthful and perfectly graceful at all times. We can only hope to come close to following his example.