He Cut Me Off!

He cut me off, almost drove me into the guard rail. What’s that crazy driver doing? I know what I’ll do, I’ll pull up beside him at the next light and give him the evil eye! He’ll know what I’m thinking. That’ll show ‘im.

He just ruined my day with anger and frustration. Things were (and I emphasize “were”) going very well. My daily quiet time that morning found me meditating on the grace of God. Sure glad He’s given me forgiveness of my sins and the gift of eternal life both for the future and for now. What an experience to know that He unconditionally loves me and has graciously given me everything I need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). Now, some lunatic in a souped up Ford cut me off from the euphoric, spiritual feelings that were characterizing my day!

But, with crushing conviction, the Spirit of God whispered in my dull ear, “Is the Grace of God so small that it can be erased so nullified?” I was immediate confronted with a choice between three things. 1) Take the low road of blowing off God’s grace – retaliate, at least in my mind! 2) Take the middle road of seeing that maybe God was graciously using that incident to protect me from something worse (for example, slowed me down when I might otherwise have run into the car in front of me). 3) Take the high road of letting God’s grace permeate me in a miraculous way so that I simply extend that grace to the other driver. How do I know but that maybe he was a) just served papers for a divorce, b) about to be fired from his job, c) rushing to the hospital to see his son who was just injured crossing the street, d) simply absent minded from lack of sleep, e) acting just like me the last time I inadvertently cut someone off.

Maybe there is no imaginable or excusable reasons for that driver’s behavior. The Grace of God working through me, gives that driver a “bye,” a “pass.” Isn’t there a saying that puts it this way, “But for the grace of God, there go I”? If God is a God of grace, then I, if I am going to be like Him, ought be a person of grace, especially to those people who wrong me.

Tags: Grace