In Court, Bad Advice, and Clear Expectations

If you remember back in January I got pulled over for the first time in my adult life and got my first speeding ticket.  This past week I went to court for my speeding ticket.  One of my biggest observations I made was there are a lot of innocent people lined up with me.

I had the most contact with a young man in front of me who was pulled over for running a red light.
 The officer who pulled him over gave him a warning for running the light but gave him a citation for having his window tint too dark.  The officer let him know if he corrected the issue he could get his ticket dismissed.

As I was talking with this young man he was using some very flavorful language and was very upset by being there.  As I talked with him and got to know him I found he worked at Ford making hoods for SUV's.  When I shared with him I was a pastor he was surprised.  His eyes got big and his language cleaned up immediately and all of a sudden became very pious.  I've always found it funny when people have that kind of response when I tell them about what I do.

When I began to talk about what I was there for he told me to contest it because I'll probably get out of it.  That wasn't my plan because like I said a few weeks ago I knew I was guilty and I needed to pay the fine.  But what bothered me is he followed some advice he was given from a friend.  His friend told him if he sold his car he would get out of the ticket because they can't give you a charge on a car you don't own.  I offered him some pastoral advice and I didn't think that was right, however, he said his friend sold his car and bought a new one every time he got a ticket and it worked!

Let's just say he was very disappointed when he found out it doesn't work that way.  He still had to pay the fine even though he followed his friends advice exactly.  His expectations didn't turn out the way he wanted nor were they realistic.

Jesus says in John 14:6 "I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me."

This young man was given the clear expectation of how to get his charge dismissed.  Just correct the window tint.  Jesus gave us clear expectations too.  He's the only way to reconcile our sins with God's.  As christians we know that.  Jesus is THE Way, THE Truth, and THE Life.  Jesus is not a way, a truth, and a life.  He didn't leave that option open for us, Jesus was very clear with His message.  We live in a culture where people are searching for answers and there are many competing voices telling them to follow this person, do these things, and find it within yourself to improve your life, make you happy, and bring you peace none of which point to Jesus.  Where the church can fail is when we remain silent or believe our actions are enough to draw people to Christ.

One of the many ways to gauge the depth and commitment to Christ is to think about how passionate are you about verbally sharing Christ with others.  I know some Christians who have been followers of Christ for over 50 years, always wear suits and tie to church, and know about 800 memory verses yet have never shared the wondrous good news of Christ with anyone.  I have also seen a gang member who came to know Christ while in prison who is covered in tattoos, wears shorts and a t-shirt to church, and can quote about 2 cliche Bible verses yet 6 months out of prison had led over 10 people to the foot of the cross.

Love is the motivation for telling the Gospel.  The expectations the young man had about his ticket were based off false hope.  The expectations many have in the world to make them right with God are also based off false hope.  If we truly believe that reconciling with God can only come through Jesus Christ and we truly believe that not being reconciled with God means an eternity of separation from Him in hell why would we not be passionate and excited about telling people about Jesus Christ.  Many of us don't tell because many of us truly have a love problem.

Each week we gather for communion.  Communion is proclaiming the Lord's death.  It's a moment for remembering and also a moment for teaching.  People can learn about Christ through the simplicity of the bread, representing the body of Christ, and the wine, representing the blood of Christ.  His death is the only atonement for our sins.  I am thankful God did not withhold this information for us or tell us something contrary to what's real to give us false hope but clearly communicated what His expectations are and exactly what we need to do.  Surrender to Jesus, follow Him, and never look back.  Be thankful for that this week.