MORE GRACE

There's a great story in today's devotional from The Grace Awakening. It's about what Chuck Swindoll did with his father's car when he had got his license and his dad tossed him the keys to go out solo for the first time. Let me paraphrase the incident for those who didn't get the book yet (sorry there was a glitch with the second order - they are definitely on their way here as I type!).

He tells how, once he was out on the open road by himself, he started wondering what the car would do. He was calculating how far he could go in the two hours he had been given the use of the vehicle if he drove at 100mph. Loads of crazy thoughts, but he did none of them. Why, when there was no one there to hold him back? Here's what he says -

My relationship with my dad was so strong that I couldn't, even though I had a license and nobody was in the car to restrain me. Over a period of time there had developed a sense of trust, a deep love relationship that held me in restraint.

Living in grace rather than under legalism means having such an awesome respect for the Lord that we voluntarily hold back as we apply self-control. Our faith is not about rules, it's about having a meaningful relationship with Jesus and with other people too.