Fresh Start Devotionals

Grace Grace is a part of my everyday life. My credit card companies give me a grace period every month to pay my bill. They don’t charge me any interest during that time because they know it takes time for us to write the check and the postal service to deliver it to them. Not only have I come to expect a grace period from credit card companies, if they don’t offer it to me, I wouldn’t even think about using their card. The same is true with rental cars. Rental car companies usually give one hour “grace period” before they charge another 24-hour fee for a late return. They do this, because they know that drivers can’t always control the traffic on the way to return the car, so they extend grace to us. Publishers send “grace issues” after our subscriptions run out to entice us to resubscribe to their magazine, just in case we forgot to send the check. After eating at a restaurant, most of us give the service staff a tip or otherwise known as a gratuity for good service. The concept is that we give “extra money” to show our appreciation for their hard work. However, just like we expect grace from the credit card, rental car and publishing companies, giving gratuity has become expected. It is easy to become accustomed to grace. Think about when you say, “Grace” before meals. Usually, it is rote and routine, without an ounce of gratitude. It is easy to take grace for granted, but we shouldn’t, because grace has limits. Miss the credit card grace period by 1 day, and they will quickly add an unreasonable amount of interest to the bill. Return a car past the 1 hour grace period and the rental car company will charge you for a complete day, publishers will not send their magazines indefinitely and even the nicest of diners will leave a bad gratuity for lousy service. Grace always has its limits. Well, not always. Romans 5:8 NLT “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” Jim L. Wilson, Fresh Start Devotionals (Fresno, CA: Willow City Press, 2009).