Fiorello LaGuardia, a former mayor of New York City, won the admiration of his citizens through various acts of civil service. On one bitterly cold night in January of 1935, he turned up at a night court that served the poorest ward of the city. LaGuardia dismissed the judge for the evening and took over the bench himself.

Within a few minutes, a tattered old woman came on charges of stealing a loaf of bread. She told LaGuardia that her daughter’s husband had deserted her, her daughter was sick, and her two grandchildren were starving. But the shopkeeper, whose bread was stolen, refused to drop the charges. LaGuardia turned to the woman and said, “I’ve got to punish you. The law makes no exceptions—ten dollars or ten days in jail.” But he reached into his pocket and paid the fine himself, then he fined everyone in the courtroom fifty cents and gave the collected money to the poor woman.

What a wonderful example of the grace of God! He doesn’t give up on us, even when we mess up. He continues to work on our behalf, granting us favor in spite of our failures, strength amidst our shortcomings, and pardon for our pitfalls.

After receiving all that grace, it is only reasonable that God expects us to serve Him. Won’t you do it today?