The Gift of a Speeding Ticket

On May 5, 2007, I was headed downtown in Indianapolis to watch my brother-in-law run across the finish line of the Indianapolis Mini Marathon.  It’s the biggest half-marathon in the country.  As I headed back home, I was pulled over and given a speeding ticket heading south on Interstate 65.  I was going 71 in a 55.  There were several who were pulled over at the same time but the fact that I was "keeping up with traffic" didn’t seem to go over well with the officer at the time.

After that event, I began making it a point to drive the speed limit.  It wasn’t easy.  To get to work I have to drive interstate 465 and only go 55 miles an hour.  Typically, people are driving at least 70 miles an hour or more as they speed down the road on the way to work.

However, as I began driving day after day in the far right lane only going 55 I saw something.  I noticed was that there were cars who were angry.  They drove up behind me, pulled around me, and gave me nasty looks because I was not moving fast enough.  Some others, though, slowed down when they saw me.  Realizing that they were going faster than they wanted to, they didn’t pull up behind me but they did slow down.  Still others did pull up behind me and followed along at my pace.  Apparently, they wanted to drive the speed limit too but were having problems finding another car to drive along beside!

This made me begin to think about my life as a Christian.  As a Christian, I am called to make a difference in this world.  Jesus said that as His follower, I should become "salt and light" in this world (Matt 5:13-16).  Salt because the world needs a preservative.  Its dying quickly.  Light because it needs its deeds exposed and it needs light to shine upon them in order for others to see.

Therefore, as a Christian, I am supposed to "drive within the speed limit".  Driving over the speed limit breaks governmental laws and requires punishment - in my case a speeding ticket.  Breaking God's laws requires punishment too.  Sin is the breaking of God's laws.  Sin itself can simply be defined as "lawlessness" or acting apart from the law.  Therefore, just as speeding makes me a lawbreaker in the governments eyes, sinning makes me a lawbreaker in God's.

I am called to live within God's laws.  I am supposed to be obedient.  When I do, several things happen.  First, some are going to be ticked off at me.  They are going to drive by me and give me dirty looks.  They might even say something or do something.  I may experience suffering for my decision to be obedient.  Second, some are not going to follow my example but instead allow it to influence their life.  They are going to see me and slow down.  They are going to realize how fast they are going and not want to break down to the speed limit but nonetheless slow down.  Still others are going to see me and want to imitate my life.  They are going to begin driving at the speed limit and cruising right behind me, happy that they are now driving within the law.  My example matters.  It counts.  It doesn’t affect all but it will affect some. 

My opportunity to speak truth into the lives of others only encourages them to drive the speed limit.  As more and more people see my example and begin to mimic it and others, then more and more people begin to follow God's laws and to live within them.  Removing all of our speeding tickets is what Jesus came to do.  Setting us free from our previous sin and all sin in the future is why we need Jesus.  Simply acknowledging that we have broken the law in the past and no longer want to do it in the future is not enough.  Claiming that we were simply "keeping up with the traffic" will not convince a traffic cop nor will it convice the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  Someone had to take the punishment for our previous wrong decisions.  That's why we need Jesus.

All this insight from a speeding ticket.  Well, I guess it just shows that God can use all things for the good of those who love Him (Rom 8:28).  Thank you, Lord, for the gift of a speeding ticket.

The Good Confession

And He continued by questioning them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered and said to Him, "You are the Christ." - Mark 8:29

Our culture is in love with this term "tolerance". We are told time and time again that if we say that homosexuality is wrong, we are intolerant. If we say that those who practice Islam, Mormonism, or Buddhism is wrong, we are intolerant. As Americans, we love to root for the underdog and often go to extreme measures to do so.

Noted British apologist G.K. Chesterton said that "Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions" and I believe him. You see those who except everything as equal have no basis to establish anything as right or wrong. Tolerance is preached as a virtue that all should uphold. Yet, if it is carried out to its logical extreme it has no basis from which to say that any action is wrong.

Thus, when I as a Christian state that all other forms of religion are wrong I am not being intolerant. I am simply being truthful. Even the most staunch defender of tolerance will admit that a line has to be drawn at some point. Tolerance will not work if everyone is given the freedom to everything that they want. That is anarchy in its purest form.

This verse of Scripture is often called the Good Confession. It is repeated prior to Christian baptism. It states in no certain terms that "Jesus, you are the Christ. You are the Messiah. You are the promised One to come. You are the fulfillment of all of the OT prophecies. You are the anointed One. You are life. I acknowledge that I am not and instead make you Lord of my life."

All of our life spiritually boils down to this one singular truth. For if we truly believe that Jesus is the Christ, we will think and act differently. We will be "intolerant" of all other so-called truths because they are wrong. Jesus Himself was intolerant of such "truths". Each person throughout the course of his or her life will either choose to accept Jesus on His terms or not. They will choose to praise God and to worship Him through their life or not. They will choose whether or not to bow their knee and repeat within their heart the very words that Peter used.

So, let state publicly once and for all, "Jesus, You are the Christ."

The Faithful Four Thousand

"In those days, when there was again a large crowd and they had nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples and said to them, "I feel compassion for the people because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat. "If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way; and some of them have come from a great distance." - Mark 8:1-3

These first few verses are the beginning of the miracle of the feeding of the 4,000. I was studying it in preparation for my Small Group Bible Study. What struck me in examining these first few verses was Jesus words and the insight that they bring. First, He had compassion on them. He said "I feel compassion".

Second, He explains why. It said that it was "because they have remained with Me now three days". Therefore, these people had come out into the wilderness to meet Jesus and have now spent 3 days away from their homes. That's 72 hours.

What strikes me about this is that they have placed their health on the line to listen to what Jesus has to say. They desired to hear from Him so badly that they remained with Him even when they ran out of food. Interestingly, it is for this reason that Jesus had compassion. He states "because they have remained with Me… If I send them away… they will faint."

What I want to suggest is that these followers were putting into practice the very principle He taught in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6. Therefore, Jesus took it upon Himself to care for them just as His Heavenly Father would. In Matthew 6:31-33 we read His words:

"Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?' "For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."

Here's the point. Jesus says to you and me: "You seek first God's kingdom and let God take care of your needs. Don’t worry about anything - including your basic needs of life. Don’t worry about food and clothing. Your Heavenly Father knows you need them. Focus only on the Kingdom."

Powerful words to take heed. Set your eyes upon God and His Kingdom and allow Him to take care of everything else. When you do, you will behave just like "the Faithful Four Thousand".

Will You Ever Truly Meet God?

"You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all of your heart." - Jeremiah 29:13 (NASB)

Powerful verse. It has been a "life verse" for me for a long time because it reminds me that I must seek God in order to find him. In the past, I have always focused upon the way that this verse applies to me in the sense that I must seek God if I want to find him.

This morning, however, it occurred to me that the opposite is also true. I see now that this is both a promise and a warning. The promise is that when we seek Him we will find Him. The warning however is that "I will never find Him if I don't seek Him". What some of us need to hear is this: "You will not find God if you continue to do what you're doing right now."

Don't expect to find Him if all you do is read your Bible, if its all about head knowledge. Its good to know what it says but if by reading it you are not using it as a means to meet God and experience Him then you never will. Its also great that you go to church. Yet, if you go to see your friends or because you think that you ought to then don't expect to meet God in that moment. You must enter into each of these areas with an expectation of encountering the Living God face to face.

The point is this: Examine your life to see what your motivations are for the spiritual disciplines you practice. What is my goal in reading my Bible? What do I hope to accomplish by going to church, fasting, or prayingr? If your goal is not to meet God in those experiences, you won't. Until we change our focus on the spiritual things that we do, we may find at the end of life that we never really encountered God. We never experienced God in the way that He desired for us to.

What a shame that would be. Will you ever truly meet God? You will if your primary objective in life is not to know about God but to know Him. You will come to truly know God and meet Him when your expectations match His.