Grace

A few years ago I co-taught a class based on Philip Yancey's book, What's So Amazing About Grace.  I remember as we talked in the class that there seemed to be a perception that grace = forgivness.  I'm not here to argue that; it certainly does mean that.  I think, however, that forgiveness is grace in the same way that a square is a rectangle.  There is so much more to grace.

I read this paragraph from Bishop Carder's book (Living our Beliefs):

According to Randy Maddox, Wesley was deeply concerned to hold together the two traditional emphases on grace.  The Eastern Church has historically placed the accent on grace as God’s healing, while the Western Church has emphasized pardon as the principal work of grace.  John Wesley incorporated both healing and pardon as inseparable expressions of divine grace.

Think about the idea of healing.  I think in this discussion healing is more than the restoration of health.  It's the restoration of the image of God in us.  It's the restoration of our relationship to God. 

Grace is love.  It's forgivness.  It's pardon.  It's healing.  It's restoration. 

It's grace.