The Gift of Grace

By Lisa Buffaloe

I was a teenager in my first car when I wondered how fast I could go in my little Toyota Corolla. A two-lane farm road afforded me the opportunity to find out. On a perfect day for driving, I decided to put the pedal to the metal. Yep, I stuck my foot on the gas and let it fly. That little engine whined and screamed.

Freedom! I probably got up to 75 mph (pretty good for such a small car). I was flying.

And that’s when I saw him, the patrol car sitting on the side of the road. I was caught. It had to be obvious.  How many little Toyotas whiz by at break-neck speed? The first opportunity to stop was a gravel road leading to a farmhouse. I pulled over and waited.

The patrol car stopped behind me; no lights and no siren. The officer just sat in his car.
A few minutes later he approached my open window. “Do you live here?”
I kept my hands on the wheel. “No sir.”
“You just pulled over?”
“Yes sir.”
His face showed no emotion, his eyes hidden behind mirrored sunglasses. “What were you doing?”
“I was trying to see how fast my car would go.”
He didn’t move for a few minutes. Finally, he shook his head. “Don’t do it again.” And with that, he turned and walked away.

I deserved to get a ticket. I even admitted my crime. Though I was guilty, I was pardoned and given the gift of grace.

Two thousand years ago, a baby boy was born in Bethlehem, and at His birth the heavens rejoiced and Earth found hope. For He wasn’t any ordinary boy; His name is Jesus, and He is the Son of God. He came to Earth to sacrifice His life to redeem the lost and thus pardon the guilty.

Jesus offers the ultimate gifts each and every day—grace and mercy; all we must do is believe.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him” (John 3:16-17 NIV).

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