It was a beautiful day and I was excited to go to the beach with my daughter. I happily drove down the steep hill to the park, but I wasn’t paying much attention to my driving and I was about to get into some trouble. When we got to the bottom of the hill, I turned right, only to realize that I was headed the wrong direction on a one-way road! I also noticed, in my rear-view mirror, that there was a new stop sign at the bottom of the hill, and I had failed to stop at it. Just as I made that observation, I noticed a policeman looking at me. I paused as I considered the best course of action. Should I continue going the wrong direction or back up on a one-way road? Neither one seemed like a good choice, but as it turned out, the police officer who approached me was concerned with my speed. Unfortunately, I had been so taken up with the scenery that I hadn’t noticed the speed limit sign stating “15 MPH.” The officer guessed my speed to be about double that.
The officer asked for my proof of insurance and my license. I was able to give him my license and then I started the search for the insurance card. Again, things weren’t looking good for me. I was borrowing my mother’s car and it appeared that she didn’t keep her insurance card in her glove compartment as I do. I explained the situation to the police officer and told him that if he didn’t mind waiting, I would just quickly call my mother to ask her what her policy number was. She didn’t answer her phone. Neither did my brother who knew most of her information. Now what was I to do? The officer didn’t have any suggestions. But he did have a question. He asked me if I could think of any reason why he shouldn’t give me a ticket. I was relieved that he didn’t use the word “jail,” but I also wondered how many tickets he was considering. I deserved four.
Now children, I want to ask you what you think I should have said. I could not think of any good excuse for my wrong actions — but I really didn’t want to pay for a bunch of tickets either! Well, I had to admit to him that I could not think of any reason why he shouldn’t fine me. I stated that I knew it was his job to enforce the laws and that I had clearly broken a few. What a relief it was to see the look on his face change and to hear him say he decided not to give me the tickets that I so deserved.
Wasn’t that nice of him to show me mercy? It makes me think about a verse in Proverbs about God’s mercy. The verse says, “He that [covers] his sins shall not prosper: but whoso [confesses] and [forsakes] them shall have mercy” (Proverbs 28:1313He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy. (Proverbs 28:13)). If I had not admitted that I was wrong, I may well have gotten quite a few tickets. Since I did admit it, the police officer showed me mercy. And God is always ready to give us mercy if we confess our sins to Him. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:99If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)). We never need to be afraid to confess to our parents or the Lord or anyone else, if we have sinned against them, because He promises He will forgive us. And He also promises we will have mercy if we confess, and don’t hide, our sins. If we do hide them, there are often very big consequences when our sins are found out, just as I might have gotten four tickets if I hadn’t admitted I deserved them!
It did not cost the police officer anything to offer me forgiveness for all the laws I had broken, but it did cost God a lot to forgive us of our sins! He sent His own Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to suffer on the cross for our sins and to die for us so that we could have forgiveness through His name. “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:1010Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:10)). Propitiation is a big word, but it means that God no longer sees our sin, because it has been completely dealt with by the Lord Jesus, and it is forever taken away. This makes it possible for a holy God to show us mercy, yet still be righteous. What amazing love that is!
Our next story will give an example of why it’s important to confess our sins right away.
Messages of God’s Love 4/11/2021