The Coach Who Believed First

In 2019, a high school track coach named John Woodruff in Richmond, Virginia, noticed a freshman named DeShawn sitting alone in the bleachers after school every day. DeShawn had no interest in running. He had a juvenile record, failing grades, and a reputation for trouble. But Coach Woodruff handed him a pair of spikes anyway and said, "I already signed you up. Practice starts Monday."

DeShawn didn't earn his spot on that team. He received it — freely, unexpectedly, before he'd done a single thing to deserve it. That's grace.

But here's what matters: Coach Woodruff didn't hand him those spikes and walk away. He showed up at 6 a.m. for training. He taught DeShawn discipline, pacing, how to breathe through pain. He pulled him off the streets on Friday nights to rest before Saturday meets. Grace put DeShawn on the team, but grace also trained him to run.

Paul tells Titus that the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people. But that same grace doesn't stop at rescue — it teaches us. It trains us to say no to ungodliness, to live with self-control and uprightness in this present age.

Too often we treat grace like a permission slip when it's actually a training program. The God who saves us doesn't leave us sitting in the bleachers. He laces up our shoes and teaches us how to run.