Since our sermon series is currently unpacking redemption, I’ve been watching in my everyday life where this has been occurring. A recent situation started with me trying to get a new license plate on Friday (my day off). Now many of us have experienced the pain of this event. You walk in to the building where you immediately see the long line. You pull a number from the machine and think, “Well gosh, this isn’t going to take long. I’ve only five numbers to go.” Little do you know.
You get to the front of THAT line, and they say, “Okay, wait until your number is called.” You ask, “How long do you think that might be?” The polite person says, “It’s about an hour and a half wait.” You take a deep breath.
At this point, let’s get to my story which I think could be slap-stick comedy or at least a scene from, “The Office.” I realize I have my email and phone with me, so I set up shop and go to work. The waiting room is pretty noisy so I go outside. After about an hour, I come back in and see that they have twenty-five more numbers before they come to me. The math is not to hard….I figure I can get about ten minutes of work done and I go back outside.
You probably already know where this is going, ten minutes later….I swear it was no more….I come back in to find they are four past my number. Panicked, I go up to the lady who originally gave me my number, where another gentleman is frustrated at having lost his turn also. She says, “Sorry, you have to take a new number.” Both the gentleman and I stare at her in disbelief. Can this be? Is this ethical? Are the lines so black and white here? Give us a little grace.
Wanting to make sure that I did not lose my cool, I left.
So this morning at 7:15, I arrived early enough to be seventh in line. The same lady who had given me the bad news on Friday was there to greet me. No doubt she recognized both me and the other guy who had lost his turn also. (He had a flight to catch!) She gave the same instructions that she had given us on Friday. “You must be here to hear your number called.” She smiled and said, “Have a nice day.” I said, “Thank you, you, too.” Wondering if she did not recognize me.
So, second chance. This time both the gentleman and I took our turns.
Redemption. Asked for a second chance…..got it.
The one point I want to make here that I’m still thinking about, is that Jesus has this whole system built on grace, and I just think there might have been some grace on Friday. Doesn’t mercy trump judgement? Or is this one of those ethical cases where the principle (“You must be here …..”) is the trump card.
Thoughts?
