What is grace? I like the definition used by many which is unmerited favor. And don't you think a lot of us could use some unmerited favor? Certainly grace is a common theme of the Bible. In the New Testament grace is mentioned over 170 times. For some of us it is by grace that we have been saved. Most of us have at some point sung the words "Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I was once was lost but now I am found, was blind but now I see."
But how can we apply grace to our daily lives? Several years ago I was traveling back to KC from Wichita after a trip to a client location. Part of the road between Wichita and KC is a toll road. You stop and get a ticket as you leave Wichita. You give the ticket to the person in the booth in Emporia. They tell you the amount, you pay, and off you go. At least that is how it worked a few years ago! So I get my ticket in Wichita and took off for KC. When I got to the toll booth in Emporia, I reached up to grab my ticket from my visor. However the ticket was not there. You would think I could keep a toll ticket in my car and not lose it, but it was gone. I did make a stop at McDonald's, so maybe I threw it away with my trash! But the reality was that my ticket was gone. So my fate was in the hands of the hopefully very friendly toll booth worker.
As my car came to a stop, I put my window down and simply said, "I can't find my ticket." Now the kind lady could have charged me as though I'd been on the road for many hours. She could have assumed I got on the highway in Oklahoma and charged me much more than the cost from Wichita to Emporia. But she didn't. She asked me where I had picked up my ticket. Now I'm sure they had my license plate and could have checked it out, but she didn't. She believed me and charged me for a trip from Wichita to Emporia. And that, my friend, is grace. So let's try giving some grace tomorrow. And the next day. And then the next. If someone falls short, give some grace. Be the person known for giving unmerited favor. For giving grace. Because when you give grace, it makes it even more amazing three hours later when you are the one who receives it.
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