The odds say we should never have met him.
But we did.
My son and I were trying to leave the Chicago Auto Show and find the bus exit that would take us to the train station…and home.
But which exit? We weren’t sure. So we asked a trio of Chicago Police officers.
Ironically, one of them I’d met before. He was the officer who ticketed me two years previously for a railroad crossing violation. I recall him being very polite and most respectful. Yet, the law required him to ticket me.
After paying the fine and doing community service, I showed up in court—and there he was. This time, I shook his hand and thanked him for reminding me—in a painful way—to be more careful.
But there he was again—at the auto show! What are the odds that of the 12,000 police officers patrolling the streets of Chicago I would meet him there?
Once again I thanked him, reminding him of my expensive safety lesson. As we parted, he reached out to shake my hand, a friendship—of a sort.
That police officer represented authority. In a similar way, Jesus is Authority to us. Ultimate Authority.
In a thousand different ways He shows Himself to every one of us in life. In a thousand different ways He lets us know we’ve broken the law, that there’s a penalty—Hell. Yet He Himself has paid the penalty. In a thousand different ways He invites us to acknowledge Him as the Authority of our lives, the One who paid the penalty for us.
For now, you can disregard Him. Ignore Him. Disbelieve Him. Even disrespect Him.
But someday, you will meet Him again.
And if you have not previously acknowledged Him as Lord…you certainly will then as Judge. Romans 14:11,12:
As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me,
And every tongue shall give praise to God.”
So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.