After my last post, I thought I would pick an excerpt from my book to share:
When I think that grace leads to sin, I have been deluded into a common misunderstanding that confuses grace for tolerance or permissiveness. Such laxity is the opposite of grace, because grace is the embodiment of care and concern. If a wife doesn’t care when her husband comes home, or if he comes home, doesn’t give a rip if he gets drunk or beats the kids, we should not call her gracious, but indifferent, cold, uncaring. If her husband says, “Mind if I leave for a month with my secretary?” and his wife answers, “Whatever,” then sin is certainly being encouraged, but not by grace. That woman is the epitome of ungrace. “Whatever” is freedom offered from a heart empty of love. “Sure, go anywhere. Go to hell for all I care.”
Freedom which is the result of an uncaring relationship loses all its glory, its joy and celebration, its power, its benefit. Such freedom is a terrible burden–a freedom from the concern of anyone but myself, absolutely alone in the universe. Relationship demands some restriction of freedom. It is impossible without this, for if I alone am the single consideration in every choice I make, relationship ceases to exist. Then others simply become my environment. Grace is not laxity, but love.
Janathan Grace Reflections 
Leave a Reply