EZEKIEL 3:8

Behold, I have made your face strong against their faces, and your forehead strong against their foreheads. [NKJV]
 

There are animals that match each other by face against face, and do battle by locking horns against the opponent's horns. To them, the hardness of their foreheads, strength of their faces and toughness of their horns, determine the strength of the rest of their entire bodies, and the rankings of seniority, victory and power among them.

In the Bible verse above, God made Ezekiel's face strong against the faces of the people he was sent to preach, and made Ezekiel's forehead tough against their foreheads. But God did not make Ezekiel's heart hard against their hardened hearts.

This meant, God's equipping of Ezekiel against the hardness of the people's heart was not by making Ezekiel's heart hard too, but by making Ezekiel's forehead and face hard against their own. So Ezekiel was to confront those hard hearted people by possessing hard and tough face and forehead, but with gentle and soft heart.

In life, there are people that make others hardened by how they treated or cheated them; and thus, making things hard because people are hard and difficult. But I urge you, let only your face and forehead but tough enough, but do not harden your heart even when facing wicked and hard hearted people. Keep your heart with all diligence as delicate and soft, for out of it are the issues of life. 

So your hard face and forehead help you overcome tough times and tough people but with a soft and harmless heart as dove. For mercy, compassion, virtues, understanding and grace, dwell in a soft heart.

For me to preach to sinners, my face and forehead have to be strong and hard against their own for the sake of telling them the truth boldly, but my heart must remain soft and harmless to them for the sake of doing so in love and grace towards them. Hence, "Grace and Truth" or "Truth Spoken in Love," not condemnation of the sinners.