A Lesson in Grace

There are many truths that we regularly try to teach our kids, but it isn’t as often that we can provide them with a perfect, dramatic, real-life experience to help them grasp the principle that we are teaching. A few years ago, on an Easter Sunday morning, I got to experience such a moment with Bethany.

As we were driving early in the morning, I was telling her stories about my Easter experiences as a child and why Easter morning, year after year, became more amazing to me. As we were driving, I started to play a favorite Easter song of mine with a fast beat and began telling Bethany why I cherished this song.

As the song played, I glanced in my rearview mirror and noticed some blue flashing lights. My heart dropped. As I pulled into the nearby parking lot, I couldn’t believe that this was happening on what promised to be a perfect morning. As the officer approached, I decided not to turn the worship music off as he asked me for details about my driving speeds and purpose on the road. I apologetically told him that I was heading to our Easter Sunrise service. After checking my license and insurance and engaging in a short conversation, he made the story of the resurrection tangible for Bethany and me with his words. “Please drive carefully; you are free to go.”

As we pulled away, our hearts (but not our car!) were racing again. As we drove on to Worship, reflecting on the incident, I was able to share with Bethany the true meaning of Easter. We don’t get what we deserve!

Here are some lessons I took away from the moment:

• My driving deserved the punishment of the law, but I was offered grace by the one who had the power and right to punish me.
• The punishment I had to pay, which would have been approximately over $300, was canceled.

Jesus extends us grace by paying the punishment for our unlawful acts, which we have all committed.