It is wise to submit to Master Grace. To live under the reign of grace is to practice patience and patience has its own wisdom.
For example, I needn’t speed when I am driving if I am practicing gracious patience. I needn’t be in a hurry about anything. A few days ago I was with someone who had trouble with this. He was going a full 20 miles per hour over the speed limit in traffic that was heading towards the city, growing heavier and heavier with each half-mile. The fast lane had been his permanent driving lane for the previous hundred miles, so as we approached the city he tailgated whoever was in the fast lane in hopes of blowing through more quickly. A slower-moving van happened to impede his progress so he crammed up the van’s butt and tried flashing his lights to get the van to move over a lane. No response.
Two lanes over looked free and clear. This was the slow lane but if he could just pass this cluster of cars he could get back into his fast lane in no time. He decided to give it a try.
The stretch of road was downhill. He pushed the pedal to the floor and proceeded at 85 or 90 in a 65. I said, “Hey, now…slow down, buddy.”
And then we saw it: a police car waiting in the wings. He was marked and got a ticket for 225 dollars—money he could ill-afford to go without.
Then, he grew angry. Angry at himself for speeding, angry at the law: “You can go faster here without danger so why does the speed limit have to be so low?! It should be 75, not 65!”
But, why do we need to be in such a hurry? We did not even have a deadline to keep and still we were in a hurry.
What if we learned--really learned--to rest in grace? There would be no reason to hurry and anger would lose its legs. Entitlement would be crucified and we would be free to enjoy life at a meter fit for music.
Let us live in grace
as we practice patience
so we may live wisely.
“A patient man has great understanding, but a quick tempered man displays folly." –Proverbs 14:29
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