“He’s a Friend of Mine”
As I rolled down my window to speak to the middle-aged police officer, I noticed fire in his eyes.
"Do you know how fast you were going, young lady?"
"No Sir."
"I clocked you at ** miles an hour, that is 22 over the speed limit."
"I am sorry, sir."
"Turn off the vehicle and give me your license."
(gulp) "My license is at home, sir."
The fire in his eyes grew to a blazing inferno as he informed me that I should be carrying it with me. I didn't bother to explain that my roommate had asked me to drive at the last minute so she could eat dinner as we drove to church, that I hadn't thought to bring my wallet as we hurriedly tried to make it in time. Then it dawned on me- I was driving my roommate's car, my roommate’s car with Texas plates, my roommate's car with expired Texas plates...maybe he wouldn't notice.
"Why do you have Texas plates on your vehicle?"…Too late.
My roommate answered for me. "It's my car, I just moved from Texas and haven't had the chance to change it yet."
"How long have you been here?"
She looked down, "....Five months..."
It didn't look good. As I sat in the car watching him in my rearview mirror, I calculated how high the fine would be. I was guilty and I knew it. I thought of all the other times I had sped and not been caught....Yup, I deserved this.
As the officer strutted back to my window I searched his face for a sign of some softening...nope. After confirming my identity by asking some questions he asked me where I was going. I decided to go with the truth, as unlikely as it sounded.
"We were headed for church."
"What?" He didn't believe me. "Which church?"
"We were going to the 7:00 Wednesday service at Our Savior in Eagle River, we were late..." I trailed off.
He looked at me debating my honesty. "Is that where Bill Trosein is pastor?"
"Yes, sir."
"He's a friend of mine, a good guy," the officer said, and he smiled for the first time. The smile disappeared as he spoke sternly to me, informing me that there is never any reason to go 22 over, and that 5 months is plenty of time to get a Wisconsin license plate. His face softened once again as he said, "Tell Bill that Junior says hi." And he walked away....no ticket, no fine, no written warning, nothing tangible to prove that I had been pulled over. I sat in shock.
Ok, I don't know if I really got out of the ticket because the officer knew my pastor, but I can't think of any other reason. It certainly wasn't because of anything I did.
We are caught, all of us. We are sinful and we know it. We deserve punishment beyond belief, and we can't even argue. We are trapped and there is nothing we can do about it. When our crimes are being read aloud all we can say is "Yes, sir, I did it. Sorry, sir." But sorry isn't good enough. We deserve the ticket. As we sadly look down we are asked:
"Where were you going?"
"Heaven, sir. We were going to be with Jesus."
"Jesus? He's a friend of mine," the law enforcer answers, "A good guy...ok, be on your way."
That's it. We know Jesus and all charges are dropped. His "goodness" covers what we did and our association with that "good name" clears all charges and we are freed. No fine, no fires of hell, no eternal damnation. We are unfairly released, and back on our way to heaven. It's really not fair.
"Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." Acts 4:12
You can guess how that encounter changed my driving, how I responded to what happened. I thanked the officer, thanked my pastor, and changed my driving. Not because I had to, because I wanted to, because I couldn't help but respond to what had been done for me.
What about you?
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"And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." Acts 2:21