Back in August, I picked my son up from Stansted Airport and we stopped to buy some food from the McDonalds store that adjoins the airport. This meant visiting a place called Southgate Park and if you do the same thing yourself, BEWARE!
It was nearly midnight, we had never been there before and all we initially took in from the parking signs was a free 60 minute parking window for customers. Imagine our surprise and dismay, therefore, when a £100 parking charge letter arrived a few days later.
We had stumbled upon a place that is notorious. It’s been described as one of Britain’s top parking traps and has been the subject of articles in national newspapers and a Joe Lycett video you can watch on YouTube. Why has it been described as a trap? Because what looks to the unsuspecting motorist like one big car park serving McDonalds and the neighbouring Starbucks is actually two distinct car parks. We parked just across from the McDonalds Drive Thru which turns out to be on Starbucks ‘land’. It was also way after Starbucks had closed for the night so nobody could claim we were denying a Starbucks customer a parking space.
This may feel like an extreme example but I know there are plenty of people who are scared to park on car parks managed by parking management companies because they fear making just such an innocent mistake and paying a heavy price for it.
Do we find a parallel anxiety in the world of Christian faith? When we speak about things like ‘the forgiveness of sins’, ‘salvation’ and our ‘place in Heaven’, these are all free gifts. We do not have to pay anything for them nor can they be earned. They are freely offered to us by a loving God. It’s the spiritual equivalent of free parking with no strings attached. All God requires of us is to accept the offer and park up in his kingdom.
God’s grace and acceptance of us should leave us feeling secure yet some people then hear Bible stories like the Parable of the Talents or the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats or talk of an ‘unforgiveable sin’ and start panicking. Could it be, we think, that, without realising it, we could do something wrong that will mean all God has given us is then taken away? A heavy price indeed for an innocent mistake.
Rest easy. The God I know is not in the business of trapping you or trying to catch you out or looking to penalise or expel you. Remember the story of the Prodigal Son and the welcome he was given. When we do wander off track, innocently or otherwise, the Holy Spirit will be there gently but repeatedly speaking to our conscience and drawing us back towards home.Prayer: Lord God, Protect me from parking management companies and my own anxieties! Help me to rest confident and assured in the security of your love. Amen.