Dan's Run-in with the Law

Today, I had a couple of run-ins with some of Boston’s Finest.  After our weekly church-wide early morning prayer meeting, I was taking one of our members home when I was pulled over for a supposedly “expired license plate.”  I say “supposedly” because the date on the plate clearly reads Feb. ’09 just as my registration does as well.  I think being pulled over had more to do with the fact that I have tinted windows and an out of state plate.  After making sure our papers were in order, he let us go on our way.  After dropping my friend off at his house, I found myself in an unfamiliar neighborhood on a one-way street.  At the end of the street, there were construction cones blocking the road.  One of Boston PD’s finest stood guard over the cones.  I rolled down my window, and asked the fine officer if there was a way to get around this.  He then looked at me, and began to cuss me up one side and down the other.  He called me a number of names that I haven’t been called in a long, long time.  After picking my jaw up off the floorboard of my car, I felt compelled to say, “Somebody is having a bad day!”  But instead of leaving it at that, I just felt even more compelled to yell back at him that I wasn’t from here so give me a break, and that someone was pretty stupid for blocking a one-way street without putting up any signs, and that he might want to find something better to do than guard a bunch of construction cones, and maybe I wasn’t the dumb, stupid $$@@#@&%$^ because I wasn’t the one guarding construction cones.  I kind of felt better, until he began walking towards me with his hand on his gun saying something that sounded like “I’ll pull your @#$@%$$ out of that car…”  I backed the car up as fast as I could, going about 35 MPH in reverse heading the wrong way down a one-way Boston street expecting to hear gun shots at any moment.  I’ve had guns pulled on me before, but last time it was gang members.  You expect that.  The good news is that the cop was on foot, and Georgia doesn’t require front license plates.  After my getaway, I spent a good portion of the day totally frustrated, angry, ticked, wanting to call the mayor, the paper or something.  My anger turned into frustration and hopelessness.  Is there any hope for a guy like that?  Is there any hope for a city with cops like that?  What in the world has God done bringing my family and me to a place where there is no hope for change?  It wasn’t until about 3pm that it hit me that I probably needed to confess my sin of anger and desire for revenge against this guy.  Not only that, but I needed to forgive this guy, and in my heart love him.  Jesus did tell us that we were to love our enemies and bless those who curse us.  And then the Spirit spoke to me, “How about your sin Big Boy (that’s what the Spirit calls me when its conviction time)?  How about your hopelessness and unbelief?”  The Spirit reminded me that I was being changed, and if God can work in my heart and change me, then there was hope for all of Boston.  Then I was reminded of the verses that I’m preaching on this Sunday, Ephesians 3:20-21.  Its Paul’s beautiful doxology, “Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!  Amen.”  Because this is who our God is there is hope for me, and those who curse me.  There is hope for our neighborhood and our beloved city.  But I’m afraid that my use of “hope” leaves a sense of doubt, that maybe God will work, or maybe He won’t.  But I’m convinced that our hope is a certain hope because not only is God able to do immeasurably more, but indeed He is willing.