A recent trip gave me an opportunity to explain grace to my granddaughter. Our two grandchildren had spent the week with us and it was time to take them home. I left the office on a Friday afternoon, rushed to pick up the girls and get them home to their mama and daddy. It took a while to gather their things and then even longer to wrestle with loading them into car seats. My daughter was looking for us to arrive by 4.
Along our two-hour travel, our trip was highlighted with blue lights in the rear-view mirror. I was pulled over for speeding. The youngest child had fallen asleep. Our six-year-old began to panic and wondered if the policeman was going to take us to jail.
Without explaining all of the details of my wrong, I am grateful to say that the yellow slip that the policeman cheerfully gave me was turned into a warning. There is a distinct feeling that one has when blue lights come flashing behind you in traffic. I and my granddaughter knew that I was speeding. This incident gave me an opportunity to show that adults can be in trouble just as well as kids. It also gave an opportunity to exhibit sorrow, regret and humility.
When the ticket was erased as a warning, it gave an opportunity to explain grace. I had done wrong. I deserved punishment. It was an unmerited favor that I was forgiven and still allowed to maintain my driving ability. Grace also gives a chance for praise. I was praising God.
Grace is something that everyone needs. Grace can be a difficult thing to explain. Grace is life’s greatest gift. Have you experienced grace? Have you been an instrument of grace?
The dictionary defines grace as free and unmerited favor. The Christian defines grace as God’s riches at Christ’s expense. It’s all because of Christ that our lives possess free and unmerited favor. God gave his only Son so that we could be forgiven of sin. We are sinners. We deserve death. Through Christ, we can have eternal life. God gave this gift because he loves us and wants us to live with him forever. It is not a gift that we have earned. It is a gift of love, free and unmerited. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, whoever believes in him will have eternal life. John 3:16
Donna Avera is the founder of “KneeMail, sharing God’s love stories through print.” She is a Rincon resident and Director of Children & Youth at Goshen UMC. Her email address is kneemail@windstream.net.