THE TICKET

IT WAS A WET AND RAINY FRIDAY EVENING, in December, and I had just stopped work for the day. I was looking forward to eating at a new restaurant along with my wife, which was offering a “buy one, get one free” evening meal.

I usually enjoy bargains, but this evening was different. Tonight I was passionate about wanting to pay a proper price for what I was about to eat! Christ, my teacher, through the Holy Spirit, was about to teach me a new lesson from an old scripture in Psalm 23: “He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.”

I had carefully noted directions, wanting to be sure that I got there at the same time as my wife!

As I exited the freeway, this passion lingered, and was getting harder to control. I came to a stop in the right hand lane, carefully planning my right turn and merge into traffic. Due to road conditions, I was also preoccupied with my personal safety, not particularly the safety of others!

A thought then crossed my mind, “If a policeman is watching me, I am just a little over the line into the pedestrian right-of-way, I don’t think I would be stopped for that.” The Spirit of God, who is “greater than our heart”, reminded me, “You tend to do that kind of thing too much anyway!”

As the traffic cleared, I merged right, and proceeded to pick up speed. Out of the corner of my eye, I detected a long, sleek sedan pulling in behind me. Soon this car lit up with red, white and blue lights like a Christmas tree! Realizing it was a policeman, I picked a secondary road and pulled in.

The policeman walked up to the car and said very courteously, “You probably wondered why I stopped you. Well, you turned right on a red signal. It is posted not to do that. Accidents frequently happen at this corner, and it is a very wet evening.”

After showing him my registration and driver’s license, I was told to wait a few moments. He soon returned, with a ticket for $110, saying, “You can either pay the fine or appeal it within 21 days”.

God occasionally takes us on a journey to understand our heart. We need to remember that God, our Heavenly Father decided this. He calls us to remember that we are still being loved and being forgiven throughout the process.

I had just recently been praying that our city residents would be more conscious of their responsibility to God! That is a huge prayer request, and far more involved than a quick “fix-it” scheme! Even the ancient Jewish, Levitical priests, knew better than to barge into the “Holy of Holies” without a rope attached to their ankles, in case they were struck down dead for presuming upon God.

After all, the “Lord’s Prayer” even starts out, “Hallowed be thy name!”

I had also been focusing my study on Romans 13 concerning God’s ministers, some of whom are the police. I now had fresh material – in my own experience! I had “proof” that God was answering that prayer. He was starting on me!

I also had a new spirit of love towards those who felt sorry for me, since I had not initially seen the sign. They felt I could contest the charge. But I now realize that the Lord wants us all to be lovingly passionate for the cause of Christ, and now knew there was only one way.

God will care about your “cause” when you care about His!

We . . . are delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest (2 Corinthians 4:11)