A number of years ago, Lillie Baltrip was a bus driver for the Houston ISD. She was a good bus driver. In fact, she was one of the best — nominated for a safe-driving award. Along with a number of other safe driver she was going to be given an award at a ceremony. And she was chosen to drive the bus that would take all the other bus drivers to the ceremony.
You guessed it.
On the way to the ceremony, Lillie turned a corner too sharply and flipped the bus over, sending her and 16 others to the hospital to be treated for minor injuries.
Do you think she still received her award? After all, it was her first incident in a year that had otherwise been accident free, so they might still give her the award, wouldn’t they? No.
No award for Lillie — one accident, even after the award had been determined and promised meant she lost the privilege.
Why? Because most people operate on the principle of law and not grace. Awards are based solely on some perceived notion of merit. Tribute is only for those who have been measured as deserving. Honor is only for the so-called honorable. No grace. No compassion. Just law.
Fortunately for believers in Christ, God operates on a principle of grace. He dispenses a gracious salvation to those who are not only not worthy of that salvation, but they are worthy of condemnation. And then He continues to uphold them with daily provisions of a kind, sustaining grace.
He does not give a meager grace to barely cover our need, but He is lavish with His provision, showering us day-by-day with all we need for life and godliness. If we are spiritually poor, we are not poor because of the meagerness of His gifts; if we are poor, we are poor because of our weakness in appropriating the gifts that He gives.
So one writer concludes,
I implore you in God’s name, not to think of Him as hard to please, but rather as generous beyond all that you can ask or think.
Or, as Paul says, “…to each one of us, grace was given.” In our need and weakness, as we have need and as we demonstrate weakness, He will give us all we need for that moment. This is the sustaining, sufficient grace of Christ.
Words of Grace 