Watching a rerun of one of the many police programmes recently, a driver was “pulled over” by a police officer and “invited” to sit in the back of the police car. The officer asked the motorist for his driving licence and then details of his car insurance. The motorist, willing to cooperate, produced his licence and provided details of his insurance after assuring the officer that he had arranged it several days earlier.
The problem arose because the motorist had arranged the insurance to start on 1 March and assumed that, as the previous day was February 28, he was safe to drive. Unfortunately, he had forgotten it was a leap year and was therefore uninsured. The officer was very understanding but had to report him for a court appearance. There was no update on the consequences, but I hoped the magistrate was sympathetic to the motorist’s unfortunate mistake.
I am sure most of us are aware that “ignorance of the law is no excuse” and if we are caught out, we would appreciate some discretion. I recall an incident many years ago when I parked in a side street to slip into a bank because I thought it would only take a few seconds! I came out to find a traffic warden standing by my car and said, “As far as I am concerned, if you are only half in a parking area, you are parking illegally.” I apologised and added, “To be honest, I didn’t realise I was even half in”. I was also very grateful, possibly because of my honest response, that I was allowed to leave without any further action.
The Bible has many instances of individuals who have been guilty of doing wrong, and in some cases have suffered death as punishment. The aforementioned incident for the motorist reminded me of people who have said, “If God is a God of love, then He wouldn’t…” As a youngster, I was often encouraged to “keep short accounts with God” and I try to practice that even today. Thankfully, we have a God who, if we confess our sins, He will forgive us.
PRAYER. Heavenly Father, we seek Your guidance so that we may live lives in accordance with Your will, but grateful when we fail, that confession enables Your forgiveness. AMEN