Lead Me to the Cross

I always thought that I would start crying, when a cop would pull me over for speeding for the very first time. I had all kinds of excuses rehearsed and ready to present when the day would come when I see the blue lights in the rear view mirror. Well…when I saw blue lights behind me this week, I froze. The only words that I was capable of pronouncing was “yes, sir” and “no, sir”. I knew I was guilty and deserved the punishment and no words came to my mind that could have excused my irresponsible action.

I handed over all the paperwork and patiently waited for the verdict. The policeman told me that I was going 40+ in the 30 mph zone. Ooops! As I watched him filling out the papers my stomach was in knots, while my heart was racing as if I just completed a marathon. Each minute of waiting felt like eternity. The heaviness of knowing that our insurance would go up didn’t make the waiting process any easier. Finally the policeman walked over to my car and extended a piece of paper. “Ma’am, please slow down and drive carefully. I issued just a warning to you,” he said with a stern voice. “Thank you!” I replied with a relief. Never in my life had I imagined that a policeman’s voice would sound like music to my ears.

As I drove off watching the speedometer showing 5 mph below the speed limit, I was thankful that the policeman showed mercy to me. In the same moment God reminded me of His mercy to all His children. When we fall short of God’s glory (for me it happens every day), the Mighty God that I serve shows mercy to me. He forgives and forgets, in the same way that a policeman demonstrated mercy to me by forgiving my speeding ticket, when I deserved the punishment for my irresponsible action. Luke 6:36 says, “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” Not only does the Word of God tell us that God is merciful, but it also urges for me and you to act in the same way and extend mercy to others.

Knowing that my Lord is merciful makes me want to shout, and knowing that my God is full of grace makes me want to tell the whole world about it. I deserve hell, but my loving and compassionate God not only had mercy on me, but He also showed grace towards me! He paid for my sins! Imagine that that a policeman stretched his hand with a ticket letting me know the date of my court appearance. The day came and I went to the court to let the judge know that I am guilty of speeding. The ticket carries a fine of $500 (this makes me feel broke, just thinking about it) and all of a sudden a man behind me take this ticket from my hand and tells me that it has been paid in full. Yep…just like that! I owe nothing…not one penny!!! That man is Jesus! He paid for my sins by dying on a cross when I deserved hell. His grace is sufficient and I am so undeserving of it. Ephesians 2:8 says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” I am humble by today’s reminder that I serve the God of grace and mercy who is standing with an outstretched hand extending the same grace and mercy to ALL of His children as a free gift.