NO SPARE TANK WITH GOD

Being one of the youngest members of my high school class has its advantages now. Not so back then. The biggest problem was not getting my driver's license until I was a junior.

One of my buddies was C.B. His folks had a Nash Rambler. Are you that old, inquiring minds queried? Guess so, though it had to be one of the last to roll off the assembly line. But when you're 15, when you have your first date in that car, it's pretty cool.

It had an aooga horn. Now, when you're 15 and in a Rambler with an aooga horn, well it's not quite as good as having your own license but it's close. It also had two gas tanks. One regular and one propane. Sometimes we would put over 100 miles on the odometer just driving around MTV. Imagine getting in your car today and driving for 4-5 hours. You could be in San Diego from Phoenix. So it shouldn't be too surprising that we ran out of the regular gas and had to burn the stinky propane.

But God doesn't work that way. Not with his grace. There's no reserve tank for each individual. Oh, we can depend on God; I'm not saying that, but God doles it out to us only when we need it. We don't come equipped with any spare grace. But we know when we need it, God will (I want to write graciously, but I won't) provide just the amount we need.

God's grace cost. Yessir. But we didn't have to pay it--Jesus did. All we have to do is accept it. And it will be offered to us time and time again. Not sparingly, and I didn't mean to disparage God about doling it out like an allowance. But yet that's kinda what it is: an allowance for our failures.

Thank you, Lord, for Your love, for Your goodness, and for not making grace smell like propane in an old Nash.